About me

Professor of Economics | School of Economics | University of Sydney

I am a Human Development economist. In the last decade, I have produced a program of research on lifecycle dynamics of health, preferences, and personality - sometimes referred to as non-cognitive, soft, or life skills. In recent years, I have produced insights on whether and how public policy affects human development. I am a chief investigator on several linked administrative data projects to study the consequences of Australia's key family/education/welfare/health policies for (Indigenous) children. For instance, we have evaluated Income Management, the cornerstone policy of the Northern Territory Emergency Response:

Doyle, M.A., Schurer, S., Silburn, S. (2022). Unintended consequences of welfare reform: evidence from birth outcomes of Aboriginal Australians. Journal of Health Economics 84, July 2022, 102618 [EALE 2019 Best Poster Award, September 2019, Uppsala].

Cobb-Clark, D., Kettlewell, N., Schurer, S., Silburn, S. (2021) The effect of quarantining welfare on school attendance in Indigenous communities. The Journal of Human Resources Published online before print September 9, 2021, doi: 10.3368/jhr.1218-9909R2.

My program of research is mainly funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council.

I am an Associate Editor of the European Economic Review, a member of the National Economic Panel of the Economic Society of Australia, and a board member and secretary of the Association for Economic Research of Indigenous Peoples. In 2021, I received the Australian Young Economist of the Year Award (Economic Society of Australia) and University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor Award for Excellence (Outstanding Teaching & Research).

Links to my CV, email, IZA DP & HCEO DP, Google Scholar Citations. Recent public appearances: The Conversation Vox.eu The New Daily Campus Review HCEO Network ABC National Radio OECD Forum Network.