Voters need "economic literacy": expert

Research Tuesday: What use is research in international trade policy and economic development?
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Monday, 11 June 2007

What do global business and the family budget have in common? The answer is: economics.

"In a Federal election year, business decisions and family budgets alike need to take into account the impact that key economic decisions will have," says Professor Richard Pomfret of the University of Adelaide's School of Economics.

"The more economically literate voters are, the better they can assess what they are being told by politicians and policy makers on a wide range of issues - from climate change to industrial relations. They will be more likely to see past the political spin and make their own decisions about how key decisions have an economic basis and an economic impact on our country."

Professor Pomfret - who is the next speaker in the University of Adelaide's highly popular Research Tuesdays public seminar series - says increased "economic literacy" would benefit policy makers themselves as well as the general public.

"Economics is the key to many of the decisions being made at the highest levels, and yet economists are not always widely regarded in Australia," he says. "There is clearly a need for a better understanding of the role of economics in all aspects of our society, at all levels of our society."

Professor Pomfret is an internationally recognised specialist in economic development and international economics and has published more than 100 papers and 17 books. In 1993 he was seconded to the United Nations as an adviser on macroeconomic policy to the Asian republics of the former Soviet Union. In 1996 he spent six months at the OECD in Paris where he prepared a report on the role of China in the world economy.

His talk this coming Tuesday (12 June) will focus on the role of economic research on international trade and policy, and demonstrates that in an increasingly global world, economic policy advisers have a significant impact on government decisions that affect us all.

The Research Tuesdays public seminars - held on the second Tuesday of every month - are an initiative of the University of Adelaide, giving leading researchers an opportunity to engage with business, community leaders and the general public on issues that impact on them.

WHAT: "What use is research in international trade policy and economic development?" by Professor Richard Pomfret

WHERE: Lower Ground Napier Building, North Terrace Campus, University of Adelaide

WHEN: 5.30pm Tuesday 12 June

COST: Free. Please book by email: research.tuesdays@adelaide.edu.au
or phone: 8303 3692

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