On 6 April 2022 in Melbourne, I delivered the biennial Stan Kelly Lecture, named by ‘modest member’ Bert Kelly after his father. The talk was hosted by the Economic Society of Australia’s Victorian branch, and was titled ‘Engaged Egalitarianism: Why the Australian Recovery Must Prioritise Openness’. It will be published in the journal Economic Papers.
Speaking in Melbourne on 7 April 2022, I announced Labor’s plan to double philanthropy by 2030, drawing on the stories of Alfred Nobel’s premature obituary and my grandfather Keith Leigh. It’s an ambitious goal, but if we have a government that collaborates with charities and donors, it’s achievable.
Speech delivered at the Paul Ramsay Foundation in Sydney on 23 March 2022. If you’re interested in this topic, you may wish to check out my book Randomistas: How Radical Researchers Changed Our World”.
On 17 January 2022, I discussed my new book, ‘What's the Worst That Could Happen? Existential Risk and Extreme Politics’ with Julian Huppert at a Cambridge University event, jointly hosted by Jesus College and the Cambridge Centre for the Study of Existential Risk.
On 21 December 2021, Andrew chatted with ABC Brisbane’s Steve Austin about ‘What’s the Worst That Could Happen? Existential Risk and Extreme Politics’.
What's the Worst That Could Happen - A Conversation with Brain Schmidt.
Talking with Chris Bowen about his book 'Labor People'.
On 10 November 2021, the Global Commission on Evidence to Address Societal Challenges (for which I’m a commissioner) held a panel discussion to preview the report’s findings. The speakers Julian Elliott, Davina Ghersi, Jenn Thornhill Verma and Andrew Leigh. For more details, see https://www.mcmasterforum.org/networks/evidence-commission/stay-connected/events/event-item/global-commission-on-evidence-to-address-societal-challenges-systematizing-best-evidence-use-in-routine-times-and-to-address-fut...
Abul Rizvi is one of Australia’s foremost experts on immigration, having served at senior levels in the immigration department. We talked about his new Monash University Publishing book “Population Shock”, which dives deeply into the economics and politics of migration. You can buy a copy here: https://publishing.monash.edu/product/population-shock/
Andrew Wear in conversation about his new book 'Recovery'. You can check out Andrew's book here .
Talking with Richard Marles about his new book on the Pacific, 'Tides That Bind'. You can check out the book here .
Kate Thwaites discussing her new book ' Enough is Enough ', co-authored with Jenny Macklin.
Why is politics more like poker than chess? I spoke with James Glenday about my book ‘The Luck of Politics’, and ran through some of the ways that fortune and misfortune have shaped political careers, from Whitlam to Morrison.
Does work give our lives purpose, meaning and status? Or is it a tedious necessity soon to be abolished by automation, leaving humans free to enjoy a life of leisure and basic income? Jon Cruddas' essential book tackles these fundamental questions for our economy and society. Join me as I discuss with Jon his theory about the role of work in social democratic parties such as the British Labour Party and the Australian Labor Party. You can find out more about The Dignity of Labour here ....
Budget 2021: Big Dollars, Small Ambitions, speech to Institute of Public Accountants Budget Breakfast.
As part of Muse restaurant's literary events, I was in conversation with Tanya Plibersek about her first foray as a book editor - Upturn: A better normal after COVID-19. About the book: COVID-19 has resulted in changes none of us could have imagined, but what happens next? In Upturn Tanya Plibersek brings together some of the country's most interesting thinkers who are ready to imagine a better Australia, and to fight for it. It is a compelling vision for a stronger economy, a fairer society and...
How are Australia's communities changing and connecting? - discussing 'Reconnected' on Late Night Live with Phillip Adams, 20 October 2020
Andrew Leigh and Nick Terrell in conversation about Reconnected: A Community Builder's Handbook. For more information about Reconnected, click here .
Are you one of those people who worries about the fabric of society falling apart? Do you suspect our sense of community is disappearing? Has economic growth established a more cohesive neighbourhood around you, or has individualism taken over? In This Mortal Coil, Indira Naidoo spoke with Andrew Leigh. He authored 'Disconnected', a book exploring the ways that Australian civic society seemed to be losing some of the glue that kept it together. The MP has also just released 'Reconnected' which o...
In Conversation with Rebecca Huntley about her climate change book.
ARC Centre of Excellence for Mathematical & Statistical Frontiers Virtual Public Lecture Constructing a new series of incarceration rates from 1860 to 2018, Australia now incarcerates a greater share of the adult population than at any point since the late nineteenth century. Much of this increase has occurred since the mid-1980s. Since 1985, the Australian incarceration rate has risen by 130 percent, and now stands at 0.22 percent of adults (221 prisoners per 100,000 adults). Recalculating ...
With Danielle Wood of the Grattan Institute and Peter Lewis of Essential Media
The George Institute for Global Health hosted me for a virtual #GeorgeTalks. I was joined in conversation by Professor Anthony Rodgers, Head of the Cardiovascular Program at The George Institute. We discussed my book, Randomistas: How Radical Researchers Changed Our World.
Per Capita Australia CEO Emma Dawson and Andrew Leigh chat in a Facebook Live event on 8 May 2020.
How will COVID-19 Shape the Progressive Agenda for Australia's Future? -- Conversation with the Australian Fabians Opened by Victoria Fielding, Deputy Chair of the Australian Fabians. Moderated by Leon Cermak, SA Chair of the Australian Fabians. Conversation recorded via Zoom, broadcast live on Facebook.
ANU/CANBERRA TIMES MEET THE AUTHOR Andrew Wear will be in conversation with Andrew Leigh MP on Andrew Wear's new book Solved!: How Other Countries Have Cracked the World's Biggest Problems and We Can Too. Sometimes the solutions are closer than we think. Denmark will reach 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2030. Iceland has topped gender equality rankings for a decade and counting. Singaporean students beat almost all others in maths and reading. South Koreans will soon live longer than anyo...
A Keynote panel at the Australasian AID Conference 2020. Debating RCTs, and other topics in impact evaluation Barton Theatre This year the Nobel prize for economics went to three economists who have promoted the use and importance of Randomised Control Trials (RCTs) in development economics and interventions. But how useful are RCTs in the real world of development assistance? And what more generally needs to be done to improve the quality and impact of impact evaluations, and to promote learnin...
Australia now incarcerates a greater share of the adult population than at any point since 1899. Much of this increase has occurred since the mid-1980s. Since 1985, the Australian incarceration rate has risen by 130 percent, and now stands at 0.22 percent of adults (221 prisoners per 100,000 adults). Recalculating Indigenous incarceration rates so that they are comparable over a long time span, I find that incarceration rates for Indigenous Australians have risen dramatically. Fully 2.5 percent ...
For all the talk about ‘uninterrupted economic growth’, Australia’s economy has underperformed in recent years. Economic growth has slowed, wages growth has declined, and productivity is in reverse. For the median household, living standards have fallen since 2013. At the heart of the malaise is a complacent federal government, which has done little to encourage dynamism in the economy. Too many sectors are dominated by cosy monopolists, too few start-up firms are challenging the incumbents, and...
