2022 Keith Hancock Lecture
Staggered Starting Blocks: Intergenerational Disadvantage in Australia
Presented by Professor Deborah Cobb-Clark

Increasing social and economic opportunity is one of the defining challenges of our time. In the 2022 Keith Hancock Lecture, Professor Deborah Cobb-Clark discusses the pathways linking entrenched socio-economic disadvantage across generations in Australia. She argues that the intergenerational persistence in economic disadvantage can largely be understood through an education lens. Children growing up in families that are reliant on social assistance experience many more disruptions in their schooling and receive less financial support from their parents, both of which impact on their chances of completing high school and avoiding the need for social assistance.

This lecture is presented by The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia in partnership with the University of Sydney.

Professor Deborah Cobb-Clark

Deborah Cobb-Clark is Professor of Economics at the University of Sydney. She is Deputy Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course; Program Coordinator for the Gender and Families Research Network at the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA) in Bonn, Germany; an elected Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia; and a Distinguished Fellow of the Economic Society of Australia. Prior to joining the University of Sydney, she was the Ronald Henderson Professor and Director of the Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research at the University of Melbourne. For over twenty years she has worked with Australian Government departments to provide evidence-based solutions to social and economic disadvantage issues around Welfare Reform. She pioneered the Youth In Focus Project that powerfully linked survey data of youths and their parents with government administrative data to investigate how young people achieve economic and social independence.

This hybrid lecture will be held both in-person and online, allowing for both in-person and virtual participation. The in-person lecture will be followed by light refreshments. Please register to receive a recording of Professor Cobb-Clark's presentation following the event.

Please RSVP for in-person attendance by Monday 3 October.