Melbourne Institute News June 2012
ISSN 1442-9500 (print)
ISSN 1442-9519 (online)
Print Post Approved PP381667/01204
Issue 36
History of the Institute: 1979–1995 Ronald Henderson retired from the Institute in September 1979 after 17 years as director. A giant’s boots are difficult to fill and so it proved. Ronald’s loyal lieutenant, Duncan Ironmonger, was appointed acting director. Although not envisaged at the time, Duncan was to remain in that position until the end of 1983. In the interregnum, Peter Sheehan left the Institute to become head of the Cain government’s Department of Management and Budget. A number of other senior staff also joined the Victorian public service.
History of the Institute: 1979–1995 Page 1
Universitas 21
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Enticing Nurses Back to Nursing
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Homelessness in Australia: Wave 1 Findings from Journeys Home Page 4
Melbourne Institute Awarded HILDA Survey Contract for Another Four years Page 5
Big Tobacco Gives Brand Names a Bad Name Page 6
Intergen+10: Ten Years of the Intergenerational Reports Page 7
Forthcoming Conferences Page 8
Melbourne Institute Working Papers Page 8
Much of the work in the Institute in the period 1979 to 1983 was centred around the Institute Multi-Purpose (IMP) Model. This project consumed around one-third of staff time and one-third of the budget. It was an era of large-scale structural econometric models of the economy. Other large-scale models were those of the Commonwealth Treasury, the Reserve Bank and the IMPACT model associated with the Industries Assistance Commission and led by Alan Powell and Peter Dixon. Both IMP and IMPACT used an input–output core that enabled forecasts at the industry level. Research in social economics had declined in the 1970s, but the appointment of Ian Manning, who worked on the Poverty Inquiry with Ronald Henderson, strengthened the area. The directorship was advertised in 1980 and Clifford Wymer, a New Zealander then at the IMF, was appointed but ill health prevented him from taking up the position. The University of Melbourne embarked on a major review of organisational structures and the Institute and Faculty were not exempt. This further delayed the appointment of a new director. Not until December 1983 was an appointment made when Peter Dixon accepted the position. By this time the IMPACT project had moved to the Faculty with the appointment of Alan Powell as Ritchie Professor. Attempts to reconcile researchers in the
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