Economics of Education Hub
Founding director Professor Richard Holden , School of Economics , with the Centre for Social Impact , the Gonski Institute and the NSW Department of Education .
Economics of education emerged as a fully-fledged field in the United States and Europe 15-20 years ago but has not taken hold to the same degree in Australia . The Economics of Education Knowledge Hub will make UNSW Business School the leading Australian authority on quantitative research on education and one of the world ’ s leading centres for work that takes a scientific approach to improving educational outcomes .
This field studies education ( from early childhood to tertiary ) through the lens of “ human capital ” theory . That is , it views the skills developed in education as contributing to a stock of knowledge for each individual ( i . e . their human capital ) that is an important determinant of post-education earnings and employment outcomes . Research in this field uses modern social scientific techniques to understand the causal impact ( as opposed to a mere correlation ) of a wide range of education and policy interventions on learning outcomes specifically , and the development of human capital more generally .
The
Economics of Education Hub recognises that high-quality education is both a human right and a key driver of economic growth . Improving education requires rigorous quantitative analysis . The hub will contribute to the achievement of SDG 4 ( quality education ) and SDG 8 ( decent work and economic growth ).
4.4 Spotlight On Research
Resilient Democracy for the 21st Century
The School of Economics is home to the
Resilient Democracy Lab , which studies how economic , political and cultural factors affect the robustness of democratic institutions and how we can design institutions that foster democratic resilience against the rise of extremisms , illiberalism , and majoritarianism .
The Lab is headed up by Scientia Associate Professor
Gabriele Gratton , whose research looks into how institutions and technologies that control the transmission of information can affect election campaigns and policy making . Gabriele was awarded an ARC Future Fellowship in 2021 and his project will focus on delivering new insights into the management of sensitive information and how to protect democracy from information manipulation . His aim is to generate a body of theoretical and empirical evidence for the design of more effective and resilient democratic institutions for a more inclusive economic development .
Other worked carried out within the Resilient Democracy Lab includes studies aimed at understanding what causes political gridlocks that fail to deliver effective policy making , the longterm political roots of bureaucratic inefficiency , and the effect of populist rhetoric on xenophobic behaviour .
Business of Diversity
The Business School ’ s Business of Diversity Visiting Scholar Program was introduced in 2019 and awards $ 40,000 p . a . for 3 years . The program is designed to attract high quality researchers in the field of equity , diversity and inclusion ( EDI ); enhance the academic EDI capability of the applicant / school / UNSW ; and facilitate collaboration with industry and peak bodies focused on EDI in Australia and overseas , particularly Asia .
For the first round , Professor
Peter Heslin from the School of Management & Governance successfully led a grant to work with Professor
Tammy Allen from the School of Psychology , University of South Florida . Their research project is examining the question “ Do gender , race , marital status , and age still drive career success ? A meta-analytic examination of recent evidence .”
Professor Allen is also working on two additional diversity-related projects with School of Management & Governance academics :
> “ Fertility treatment and their impact on the behaviours and experiences of women and their partners at work ” led by Associate Professors
Suzanne Chan-Serafin and
Hugh Bainbridge
> “ Gender , Mentorship , and Sponsorship Across Cultures ” led by Associate Professor
Josh Keller and Professor Peter Heslin .
42 | UNSW PRME SIP Report 2021