The Colin Clark Memorial Lecture Series
Our annual public lecture and most prestigious event
29 October 2025
5:30pm–8pm AEST
Customs House
2025 Colin Clark Memorial Lecture by
Professor Tim Hatton, Australian National University and University of Essex (UK)
Three Decades of Migration and Policy: What Have We Learned?
The School of Economics is proud to welcome Professor Tim Hatton as the 2025 Colin Clark keynote speaker. In this thought provoking address, Professor Hatton will reflect on decades of international migration and its evolving relationship with public policy.
Drawing on his extensive research, Professor Hatton will explore the dynamic interplay between immigration, public opinion and policy, focusing particularly on developments across Europe. He will also offer valuable insights into the evolving landscape of European asylum policy and what the past can teach us.
Join us for an engaging evening of ideas and reflection, as we consider how history can shed light on effective, informed migration policy.
About the speaker - Professor Tim Hatton
Tim Hatton is an Emeritus Professor of Economics at both the Australian National University and the University of Essex (UK) and is internationally recognised for his contributions to economic research. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia and the UK and continues to be an active voice in the field as a Research Fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR, London) and the Institute for the Study of Labour (IZA, Bonn).
An expert in labour economics and economic history, Professor Hatton has published extensively on labour markets, employment, immigration and welfare in different economics eras. His recent work has focused on immigration, asylum policy and public opinion in Europe. His influential publications include Global Migration and the World Economy: Two Centuries of Policy and Performance (MIT Press, 2005) and Seeking Asylum: Trends and Policies in the OECD (CEPR, 2011).
About the series
The lecture series is named in honour of the late Dr Colin Clark and his outstanding contribution to the field of economics. Each year a leading expert in economics is invited to present the keynote address.
Dr Colin Clark was a UQ Economics academic whose work on national income accounting was fundamentally important to the development of macroeconomics and to the approach of John Maynard Keynes.
While visiting Australia, he accepted the invitation of Queensland Premier Forgan Smith to work with the government. He reflected on the opportunity in a letter to John Keynes writing the opportunity was "too remarkable an opportunity to be missed for putting economics into practice."
In 1938 he was appointed Government Statistician, Director of the Bureau of Industry, and Financial Advisor to the Queensland Treasury, and provided the State's first set of economic accounts in 1940.
Dr Clark's greatest contribution to economics was his pioneering role in the construction of national accounts.
Previous lectures
Previous speakers
| Year | Speaker | |
|---|---|---|
| Thirty-third | 2024 | Professor Jessica Pan, The Evolution of Gender in the Labour Market |
| Thirty-second | 2023 | Professor Diane Coyle, What has happened to economic progress? |
| Thirty-first | 2022 | Erik Brynjolfsson, GDP-B: Accounting for the value of new and free goods in the digital economy |
| Year | Speaker | |
|---|---|---|
| Thirtieth | 2021 | Matthew Jackson, The economic consequences and dynamics of social networks |
| Twenty-ninth | 2019 | Professor Alicia Rambaldi, International comparison methods |
| Twenty-eighth | 2018 | Professor Daniel Zizzo, Decision making: How to change it and why it matters |
| Twenty-seventh | 2017 | Professor John Quiggin, Unscrambling the Toll Road Egg |
| Twenty-sixth | 2016 | Professor Leslie M. Marx, How to defend against potential collusion by your suppliers |
| Twenty-fifth | 2015 | Professor Alison Booth, Gender in economics: A story in the making |
| Twenty-fourth | 2014 | Professor Dale Jorgenson, Australia and the Growth of the World Economy |
| Twenty-third | 2013 | Professor John Quiggin, National Accounting and the Digital Economy: The Case of the NBN |
| Twenty-second | 2012 | Professor Ross Garnaut |
| Twenty-first | 2011 | Professor Stephen King |
| Year | Speaker | |
|---|---|---|
| Twentieth | 2010 | Professor Erwin Diewert |
| Nineteenth | 2009 | Dr David Gruen, What Have We Learnt? The Great Depression in Australia from the Perspective of Today |
| Eighteenth | 2008 | Mr Gary Banks AO |
| Seventeenth | 2007 | Professor Ian Harper |
| Sixteenth | 2006 | Professor Alan Heston |
| Fifteenth | 2005 | Professor Stan Metcalfe CBE |
| Fourteenth | 2004 | Professor Allan Fels AO |
| Thirteenth | 2003 | Mr Angus Maddison |
| Twelfth | 2002 | Mr Ian Macfarlane |
| Eleventh | 2001 | Dr Peter McCawley, Asian Poverty: What can be Done? |
| Year | Speaker | |
|---|---|---|
| Tenth | 2000 | Professor Bob Gregory |
| Ninth | 1999 | Mr Ted Evans |
| Eighth | 1998 | Mr Ian Castles |
| Seventh | 1997 | Professor Geoffrey Harcourt |
| Sixth | 1996 | Dr Peter Crossman |
| Fifth | 1995 | Professor Warren Hogan |
| Fourth | 1994 | Emeritus Professor H.M. (Ted) Kolsen |
| Third | 1993 | Professor Peter Groenewegen |
| Second | 1992 | Emeritus Professor Heinz Wolfgang Arndt |
| Inaugural | 1991 | Emeritus Professor Jim O.N. Perkins |