Robert Breunig is the director of the Tax and Transfer Policy Institute at the Crawford School of Public Policy. From 2015 to 2016 he was the Director of the Crawford School of Public Policy.

Professor Breunig is one of Australia’s leading Public Policy Economists. He has published in over 75 international academic journals in economics and public policy. Professor Breunig has made significant policy impact through a number of his research projects: the relationship between child care and women’s labour supply; the effect of immigration to Australia on the labour market prospects of Australians; the effect of switching to cash from food stamps in the U.S. food stamp program and the inter-generational transmission of disadvantage.

Professor Breunig’s research is motivated by important social policy issues and debates. His work is characterized by careful empirical study and appropriate use of statistical technique.

Professor Breunig’s research agenda has led to many partnerships with government organizations in Australia and overseas. He works regularly with the Australian Treasury, the Department of Employment, the Department of Education, the Department of Industry, the Department of Communication and the Arts, the Productivity Commission, the Australian Bureau of Statistics as well as many other agencies. He has been a consultant to the private sector on marketing, mergers, bank competition and customer loyalty programs.

Robert Breunig particularly enjoys interaction outside of typical academic circles and takes pleasure in helping those who don’t usually use economics or statistical analysis to better understand and make use of these tools in their work. He has an extensive track record of helping the Australian public service to build research capacity which he views as a particularly important activity.

COVID-19 Expertise

Professor Robert Breunig is an expert on the Australian tax and transfer system. He is working on policy solutions around tax reform that will help Australia’s post-pandemic economic growth. His focus is on the inadequacy of the current tax system to place Australia in a strong position for recovery from COVID-19. He is working on broad-based tax reform grounded in empirical evidence and cutting edge economic theory.

Teaching

Professor Breunig teaches POGO8081: Economics for Government to students in the Master of Public Policy and Master of Public Administration.

Professor Breunig offers a wide variety of courses designed to improve research capacity of government public servants and fellow academics.

Advisory and outreach work

Professor Breunig provides advice on modeling and using data. He helps a variety of government agencies conduct program evaluation including randomised control trials for impact evaluation. He provides education and training in a range of economic and statistical topics.
Professor Breunig is currently working with:

• Productivity Commission, Australia
• Australian Treasury
• Australian Commonwealth Department of Education
• Australian Commonwealth Department of Employment
• Australian Commonwealth Department of Immigration and Border Protection
• Melbourne Water
• Australian Taxation Office
• Good Beginnings / Save the Children Australia

Sample projects include:

• Impact of housing assistance on employment outcomes
• Women’s labour supply and childcare prices
• Effect of minimum wage on employment outcomes
• Costing the provision of extra services to disabled students
• Evaluating employment assistance to special populations