Australian Capital Territory

History of the ESA

The Economic Society of Australia (The Society) was established in 1925, with seven branches across Australia and New Zealand and a Central Council.

D.B. Copland, a Professor of Commerce at University of Melbourne, played a key role in the formation of the society. Professor Copland sought to establish good relations with the business community and was noted for his interest in the application of economic theory to practical problems.

At the time the Society formed, it opposed declarations of policy and instead focused on open discussion and the encouragement of economic debate on affairs of the time. This stance continues today, with the Society being a forum for professional discussion rather than an advocacy group.

You can read the story of how the Society came about from the Wiley archive article written in November 1923 – The Economic Society – its Origin and Constitution click here for more.


Past ESA Central Council Presidents

1925

-

1928

 

Professor D B Copland

1928

-

1930

 

Mr C H Wickens

1930

-

1932

 

Mr E C Dyason

1932

-

1935

 

Professor L F Giblin

1935

-

1937

 

Professor R C Mills

1937

-

1939

 

Professor J B Brigden

1939

-

1946

 

Mr L G Melville

1946

-

1947

 

Dr Roland Wilson

1947

-

1949

 

Professor F R E Mauldon

1949

-

1951

 

Professor L F Giblin

1951

-

1952

 

Professor T F Hytten

1952

-

1954

 

Professor C G F Simkin

1954

-

1955

 

Mr G A Weller

1955

-

1957

 

Professor Wilfred Prest

1957

-

1958

 

Professor H W Arndt

1958

-

1959

 

Professor S J Butlin

1959

-

1961

 

Professor T W Swan

1961

-

1962

 

Professor P H Karmel

1962

-

1964

 

Sir John Crawford

1964

-

1965

 

Professor D Cochrane

1965

-

1967

 

Professor G G Firth

1967

-

1968

 

Professor F W Holmes

1968

-

1969

 

Professor J E Isaac

1969

-

1972

 

Professor R C Gates

1972

-

1974

 

Professor N T Drane

1974

-

1977

 

Professor G C Harcourt

1977

-

1980

 

Professor W M Corden

1980

-

1984

 

Professor J W Nevile

1984

 

1987

 

Professor F H Gruen

1987

-

1990

 

Mr J D S MacLeod

1990

-

1993

 

Mr F Argy

1993

 

1996

 

Mr B Fraser

1996

-

1999

 

Professor R Gregory

1999

-

2001

 

Dr D McTaggart

2001

-

2004

 

Professor P Lewis

2004

-

2007

 

Professor N Norman

2007

-

2013

 

Professor B Chapman

2013

-

2019

 

Dr M Butlin

2019

-

2022

 

Ms D Wood

2022

-

Present

Catherine de Fontenay


Share this with your friends