Beyond the Breadwinner - Hobart and Online

Name: Beyond the Breadwinner - Hobart and Online
Start: 2025-07-02 18:00:00
End: 2025-07-02 19:30:00
Location: Sir Stanley Burbury Lecture Theatre

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Date

From: Wednesday July 2, 2025, 6:00 pm

To: Wednesday July 2, 2025, 7:30 pm

Details

Beyond the Breadwinner

What does it mean to be a man, and what has that got to do with the economy?

While economists have long studied how expectations about women’s roles shape their education, job choices and place in the workforce, they’ve largely overlooked the flip side: the powerful economic effects of masculinity. These culturally constructed ideas about what it means to be a ‘real man’ can quietly, yet profoundly, shape everything from labour supply to mental health, political attitudes, and beyond.

Now, new research is revealing that these norms, often inherited from the past, are more than personal beliefs. They are key economic and social drivers, as influential as education or income. Drawing on global data from 70 countries, and a striking case study drawn from Australia’s convict past, this talk explores how notions of masculinity have been formed, transmitted, and entrenched, and how they continue to affect life today.

Secure your spot now to uncover the surprising economic story behind masculinity, past and present. Tickets are free but limited and essential.

Bookings

To register for the free in person event please go to Humanitix.

Head to the venue early and enjoy complimentary refreshments from 5.30pm.

To attend online, register via Zoom, and we'll email you details.

The Giblin

The Giblin Lecture is a partnership between the University of Tasmania and the Economics Society of Australia – Tasmania Branch. It is named for the eminent Australian economist, Lyndhurst Falkiner Giblin and presented as part of the university's Island of Ideas Public Talk Series.

Agenda

Refreshments from 5:30pm

Lecture commences 6:00pm

Following the lecture, there will be an opportunity for questions and discussion.

Speakers

Professor David Byrne

Digital and Resource Economist, University of Melbourne
David Byrne is a Professor of Economics at the University of Melbourne. He conducts research in industrial organisation and behavioural economics, using data to detect market power and uncover where it comes from to inform competition policy. His investigations have spanned various industries, including petroleum, water, electricity, telecommunications, healthcare, banking, and gambling. Currently, he is examining how digital platforms, Big Data and algorithms affect market power and how digitisation and market design can help create resource conservation at scale.

His work has been published in leading economics journals, including the American Economic Review and Quarterly Journal of Economics. His publications have been cited by governments worldwide, such as in the 2023 Economic Report of the President of the United States. He received the 2023 Young Economist of the Year Award from the Economic Society of Australia for his research and policy work.

David is also an associate editor of the International Journal of Industrial Organization, an executive committee member of the Asia-Pacific Industrial Organization Society and European Association for Research in Industrial Economics, a member of Australia’s National Economic Panel and the European Commission’s Competition Network, and an affiliate of the Centre for Market Design, Melbourne Economic Forum, Melbourne Energy Institute, and e61 Institute.

David is originally from Nova Scotia, Canada. He received his PhD in 2011 from Queen’s University and BCom (Hons) from Mount Allison University. He moved to Melbourne after finishing his PhD and has since become a major supporter of the Collingwood Magpies Football Club and women’s cricket.