BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//hacksw/handcal//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND:20250311T090000 UID:6a0bd4301cfa7 DTSTAMP:20260519T130832 LOCATION:University Club of Western Australia The University of Western Australia\, Hackett Drive Crawley 6009 WA DESCRIPTION:The Economic Society of Australia (WA Branch) is delighted to welcome The Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP \;as the keynote speaker for the first 2025 \;event in its \;Economics on the Swan \;series. Join us for a (light) breakfast event at The University Club \;(UWA Campus) on Tuesday\, 11 March from 7:30am. Andrew&rsquo\;s talk\, "Why Competition Reform Is More Fun Than It Looks &ndash\; and More Significant Than You Thought"\, will commence at 8:00am and the event will conclude by 9:00am. Topic: Using bigger datasets\, better econometric techniques and fresh theories\, economists have provided new insights on trends in market concentration and the relationship between competition and productivity. The Australian Government&rsquo\;s establishment of a Competition Taskforce within the Treasury reflects the importance we place on competition reform. Already\, we have implemented the biggest overhaul of merger laws in half a century\, revitalised National Competition Policy and instated key reforms to check the monopoly and monopsony power of big supermarkets. In this talk\, I will discuss how research and reform have been intertwined\, and what lies ahead for economists and policymakers. Speaker Bio: Andrew Leigh is the Assistant Minister for Competition\, Charities\, Treasury and Employment\, and Federal Member for Fenner in the ACT. Prior to being elected in 2010\, Andrew was a professor of economics at the Australian National University. He holds a PhD in Public Policy from Harvard\, having graduated from the University of Sydney with first class honours in Arts and Law. Andrew is a past recipient of the Economic Society of Australia's Young Economist Award and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences. His books include The Economics of Just About Everything (2014)\, The Luck of Politics (2015)\, Choosing Openness: Why Global Engagement is Best for Australia (2017)\, Randomistas: How Radical Researchers Changed Our World (2018)\, What's the Worst That Could Happen? Existential Risk and Extreme Politics (2021)\, and The Shortest History of Economics (2024). Andrew is a keen Ironman triathlete and marathon runner\, and hosts a podcast called The Good Life: Andrew \;Leigh \;in Conversation\, about living a happier\, healthier and more ethical life. Andrew is the father of three sons - Sebastian\, Theodore and Zachary\, and lives with his wife Gweneth in Canberra. He has been a member of the Australian Labor Party since 1991. URL;VALUE=URI:http://esawa.org.au/event/58440 SUMMARY:Economics on the Swan with Andrew Leigh DTSTART:20250311T073000 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR