Since 2005, the EDN has been a crucial part of developing Economics in Australia and the place of Australian institutions and economists in the global academic community. The EDN has supported 9 major conferences, 20 small conferences and research workshops, and 6 training workshops. The Network has also funded keynote speakers, symposia and specialist streams at major conferences such as the Australasian Econometric Society meetings. The EDN has been instrumental in bringing many of the world’s leading scholars, including a number of current and recent Nobel Prize winners, to Australian institutions by funding Visitor Programs. These activities have substantially raised the profile of Australian economics in academic circles around the world.

The EDN has also funded Academic Collaboration Projects, allowing co-authors to travel and work together on joint projects. The EDN has funded 19 Visitor Programs involving over 100 visitors, and 11 Academic Collaboration projects. Collaboration and networking is a core objective of the EDN, and the Winter School is another important part of this. The Winter Schools provide extremely valuable training and collaboration opportunities for PhD Students, graduates, and Early Career Researchers. This program is unique in Australia and is such a great opportunity for career development that is has been oversubscribed since 2006.

Members have found these programs immensely valuable in facilitating networking and collaboration, providing training for graduates and policymakers, and fostering international links with high profile institutions and researchers. The EDN has played a key role in developing Australia’s place in the global academic community.

"The quality of conferences and workshops around the Australasian area jumped upwards once EDN pitched in to attract world class speakers." – EDN Program Participant Survey Responses

"The funds available for networking fill an important gap. We were never able to create this type of intellectual environment, before the EDN funding." – EDN Program Participant Survey Responses

The EDN has also forged links between government and academia, allowing policymakers access to the most up-to-date economic design tools. Since 2005 the EDN has sponsored 8 policy training workshops and 4 policy round tables on a range of issues, from strategic issues in public health to the Carbon Emissions Trading Scheme. It has also sponsored a series of policy training workshops on auction theory, contract design, and the use of experimental economics in policy design and evaluation.

Building on these relationships between government and academia, the EDN has facilitated joint ventures between institutions. In particular the Network has aided the development of Experimental Economics in Australia. Notable achievements in this area include the University of Melbourne Experimental Economics Laboratory (pictured below), a $900,000 joint venture of the Victorian Government and the University of Melbourne.

The growing membership and positive feedback reflects the central and dynamic role of the EDN in Australian economics, and its importance in developing Australia as a world class academic environment.