Prof. Robert Breunig

Robert Breunig is Professor and Director of the Tax and Transfer Policy Institute at the Crawford School of Public Policy, and former Director of the Crawford School of Public Policy at ANU. He obtained his PhD from University of California Riverside in 1998.

A leading public policy economist in Australia, Robert has published in over 50 international academic journals in economics and public policy.  His research interests include applied topics in labour economics, economics of the household, empirical industrial organization and econometric theory.  He has made significant policy impact through a number of his research projects: the relationship between childcare and women’s labour supply; the effect of immigration to Australia on the labour market prospects of Australians; the effect of switching to cash from food stamps in the U.S. food stamp program and the inter-generational transmission of disadvantage.

Robert’s research agenda has led to many partnerships with government organizations in Australia and overseas. He works regularly with the Australian Treasury, the Department of Employment, the Department of Industry, the Department of Communication and the Arts, the Productivity Commission, the Australian Bureau of Statistics as well as many other agencies.  Robert particularly enjoys interaction outside of typical academic circles and takes pleasure in helping those who don’t usually use economics or statistical analysis to better understand and make use of these tools in their work. He has an extensive track record of helping the Australian public service to build research capacity which he views as a particularly important activity.