Interdisciplinarian takes out top honour

Professor Geoff Brennan has achieved something quite remarkable.

Although he is not a member of any economic departments, he has managed to scoop the field, recently collecting the 2013 Australian Economic Society’s Distinguished Fellow Award.

“I am a member of two philosophy departments and one political science department, so I was quite chuffed to get the economics award,” Professor Brennan said.

However, this story isn’t as peculiar as it may seem.

Prior to 1984 Professor Brennan was a successful economist – even dedicating six years at the Public Choice Centre at George Mason University in the United States.

After getting a taste of the philosophy division while in America, Professor Brennan decided to continue this association when he returned to ANU.

“I moved to the Research School of Social Sciences (RSSS) from the Faculties Economics Department, as it was known back then in 1988,” he said.

“RSSS in those days was an ideal place for inter-disciplinary work.

“The philosophy, political science and economics (PPE) groups were all housed in Coombs, and there was some interest in school-wide initiatives.

“So, the philosophy group seemed to me the best location at ANU for me to continue my inter-disciplinary interests. Besides the philosophers are an especially interesting and high quality group that are stimulating to be around.”

School of Philosophy Head Alan Hajek said Professor Brennan’s achievement was well deserved.

“Geoffrey Brennan has made a truly magnificent contribution as an economist to the understanding of public finance and, more generally, the public world of norm and law and politics. At a time when the economics profession has often isolated itself from other disciplines, Geoffrey has stood out nationally and internationally as an economist,” Professor Hajek said.

“Geoff has used his formidable skills as an economist to shed light on a great range of social and political behaviours, and in doing so has also won an international reputation as a first-rate philosopher and political scientist.”

The Distinguished Fellow Award has been granted to an outstanding Australian economist each year since 1985, and is a way of recognising contributions to the development of economics as a discipline or profession.