LUMEN Summer 2020 - Flipbook - Page 18
D
anielle Wood is a woman on the rise.
As one of Australia’s sharpest
economic minds, she is playing a key
role in steering policy during one of
the biggest economic issues of our generation: the
COVID-19 pandemic. Danielle is President of
the Australian Economic Society and CEO of the
Grattan Institute, the brains trust that helps solve
major Australian economic issues.
The Melbourne mother has often returned to her
South Australian home to visit family, present at
conferences and inspire school students to study
her chosen field.
Danielle studied economics in high school
and decided a career in the field would be the
best way to use her analytical skills to make a
difference in the world. She credits her high
school teacher as a big influence, encouraging her
to pursue economics at university. Danielle fell in
love with the language of policy and considered it
the best way to get in there and have an influence
on big decisions during one.
“When I was back in Adelaide, I went to my old
high school and spoke to students. It was great
to show them the cool things you can do with
an economics degree,” she said. “One of the
biggest challenges our profession faces is that
the number of students studying economics in
high school has fallen dramatically in the last 20
years. The number of people, particularly women,
graduating with an economics degree or major
has also fallen. We really want to get the message
out that it is a fascinating area to study and there
are lots of interesting pathways you can take.”
The global pandemic has seen Australia
experience its worst economic downturn since
the Great Depression, and with this, economists
will be in high demand to help us map our way
out. From Danielle’s perspective, “how quickly
we recover from this economic shock will depend
on keeping the health situation under control and
the government’s appetite for policies that will
help rebuild consumer and business confidence”.
“The Reserve Bank expects unemployment to
climb to 10 per cent by the end of the year and
still be above 8 per cent by the end of 2021.
That’s too high for too long. I would like to
see a commitment to significant stimulus by
Commonwealth and State governments with a
focus on job creation and delivering long-term
social value,” Danielle said.
“Shovel-ready investments like building social
housing make a lot of sense. But this is not just
a tradie recession. The services sector bore the
brunt of the initial hit, with job losses especially
acute for women and young people. There is a
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THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE
