Professor Deborah Mitchell

Deputy Director

T: +61 2 6125 2136
E: Deborah.Mitchell@anu.edu.au
Room 3215 Coombs Building

Deborah Mitchell is the Deputy Director of the Australian Demographic & Social Research and was the founding Director of the ACSPRI Centre for Social Research. Prior to this appointment, she was a Senior Lecturer in Public Policy and during the 1990s held several research only appointments in the Political Science and Economics programs of RSSS. Deborah is the current Editor of the Australian Journal of Social Issues and a member of the Editorial Board of the International Social Security Review. Deborah is currently responsible for the academic direction of the Australian Social Science Data Archive and through this work she engages with national infrastructure bodies such as the National e-Research Task Force. Research interests Deborah’s primary research interests lie in the field of social policy. Her published research encompasses: comparative social policy; the interaction of labour market and social policy; the impact of globalisation on social policy; and more recently, longitudinal research on social policy across the life course. In each of these research areas, her research draws on a range of empirical survey evidence from Australia, and international databases such as the Luxembourg Income Study and OECD statistics. Deborah’s research findings have been published in a wide range of social science journals, books and edited collections. Her applied research is cited both by academics and policy-makers in Australia. Books Income Transfers in Ten Welfare States. Avebury: UK, 1991. US Edition, Gower: Brookfield, 1992. Japanese Edition. trans. Takafumi, Uzuhashi et al, Tuttle-Mori:Tokyo, 1993. The Foundations of the Welfare State. Volume 1, 2000 xxii+468. Volume 2, 2000 pp.501. Volume 3, 2000 pp. 665. Edward Elgar: London. (co-edited with R. E. Goodin) Book chapters/refereed conference volumes The Costs of Children. In Walker, R and Parker,G (eds) Money Matters. Sage: London 1988. 27-45 Comparing Income Transfer Systems: Is Australia the Poor Relation? in F.Castles (ed) Australia Compared. Allen & Unwin, 1991. 168-190 A Radical World of Welfare: The welfare state and equality in the English-speaking family of nations. In F. Castles (ed) Families of Nations: Patterns of Public Policy in Western Democracies. Dartmouth: 1993. 93-128 (with F. Castles) Sole Parents, Work and Welfare: Evidence from the Luxembourg Income Study. In S. Shaver (ed.), Comparative Perspectives on Sole Parents Policy: Work and Welfare. SPRC Reports and Proceedings No. 106. University of New South Wales, 1993. 53-89 Economic Well-being in Periods of High Unemployment: Pathways to Change. In Smyth, P (ed) The Employment White Paper: A New Social Charter? UNIYA, 1993. 9-21 Comparing Low Incomes in France and the United Kingdom. In Bradbury, B (ed). Contemporary Issues in Income Distribution Research. SPRC Reports and Proceedings No.115 University of New South Wales, 1994. 103-107 Women’s Incomes. In Edwards, A and Magarey, S. Women in a Restructuring Australia. Allen & Unwin, 1995. 79-94 Social Policy and the National Commission of Audit: Old Whines in New Bottles? In Hamilton, C. (ed) What Should Governments Do? The Australia Institute. Canberra, 1996. 18-30 Family Policy. In Galligan, B., McAllister, I. and Ravenhill, J. (eds) Developments in Australian Politics. MacMillan, 1997. 176-191. Is There a Demographic Crisis? An Assessment of the National Commission of Audit. In Howard M. (ed) Blueprints for the Public Sector. PSRC: Sydney, 1997. 7-18. Life-course and Labour Market Transitions: an alternative model for welfare state design. In Gatens, M and McKinnon, A. (eds) Gender and Institutions. CUP, Melbourne, 1998. 19-37. Public Pensions. In Shafritz, J. (ed), International Encyclopaedia of Public Policy and Administration. Henry Holt and Company, NY,1998. 1008-1012. Wages and Employment. In Caine, B et al (eds), Oxford Companion to Australian Feminism. OUP, 1998. 355-365 From 'Difference' to 'Equality' in Social Security. In Caine, B et al (eds), Oxford Companion to Australian Feminism. OUP,1998. 311-316 (with B. Cass) Family Policy and the State. In Hancock, L (ed) Women, Public Policy and the State. MacMillan: Melbourne, 1999. Labour Market Regulation and Low Wages: A Lifetime Perspective. In Richardson, S. (ed) Equity and Productivity in the Australian Labour Market. CUP: Melbourne, 1999. The Foundations of the Welfare State: An Introduction. In Goodin, R and Mitchell, D (eds) The Foundations of the Welfare State. Edward Elgar: London, 2000. (with R. Goodin) Security and Equity in a Changing Society: Social Policy. In Davis, G. and Keating, M. (eds) The Future of Governance: Policy Choices. Allen and Unwin, 2000. (with M. Keating) 122-152. Managing the New Social Risks: Welfare. In Sheil, C. (ed) Globalisation: Australian Impacts. Allen and Unwin: Sydney, 2001. 236-256. Making Families Work. In Wilson, S et al (eds) Australian Social Attitudes. Allen & Unwin: Sydney, 2005. 30-42. The Lifecourse and Social Policy. In Fitzpatrick, T et al (eds) International Encyclopaedia of Social Policy. Routledge: London, forth 2006. Reshaping Family Policy. In Galligan, B et al (eds) Oxford Companion to Australian Politics. OUP: Melbourne, forth 2006. Journal Articles Evaluating Adequacy: The Potential of Budget Standards. Journal of Social Policy. v.16:2 (165-181), 1987. (with J. Bradshaw) Targeting Efficiency of Social Security Programs. Australian Journal of Public Administration. v.49:1 (10-18), 1990. Identifying Welfare State Regimes: the Links between Politics, Instruments and Outcomes. Governance. v.5:1 (1-26), 1992. (with F. Castles) The Efficiency and Effectiveness of the Tax-Transfer System in the 1980s. Australian Tax Forum. v.9:3 (277-303), 1992. (with A. Harding) Welfare States and Welfare Outcomes in the 1980s. International Social Security Review. v.45:2 (73-90), 1993. The Efficiency and Effectiveness of the Tax-Transfer System in the 1980s: A rejoinder to Saunders and Matheson. Australian Tax Forum. v.10:1 (407-420), 1993. (with A. Harding) Targeting Welfare. Economic Record. v.70: 2 (310-335), 1994. (with F.Gruen & A.Harding) Is There a Trade-off Between the Efficiency and Effectiveness Goals of Income Transfer Programs? Evidence from the Luxembourg Income Study. Journal of Income Distribution. v.5:1 (111-135), 1995. The role of targeting in rethinking social security policy. International Social Security Association Studies and Research. 36 (233-255), 1995. (with F. Gruen) International Comparisons of Income Inequality. Growth. v. 43 (37-54), 1995. Women and the Welfare State in the Era of Global Markets. Social Politics. v.3: 2 (185-195), 1996. (with G. Garrett) The sustainability of the welfare state: debates, myths, agendas. Just Policy. v.9 (51-57), 1997. Reassessing the Role of Child Care Costs in the Work and Care Decisions of Australian Families. Australian Bulletin of Labour, 26 (4) 197-215, 2000. (with D.Cobb-Clark & A.Liu) Globalization, government spending and taxation in the OECD. European Journal of Political Research. v39 (2) 145-177, 2001. (with G. Garrett). The Impact of Children on the Lifetime Earnings of Australian Women: Evidence from the 1990s. Australian Economic Review, v. 34 (4): 373-393, 2001. (with B. Chapman, et al) If Mutual Obligation is the Answer, What is the Question? Australian Journal of Social Issues, v.37 (3) 225-245, 2002. (with V. Braithwaite & M. Gatens). Participation and Opportunity: Redefining Social Security in Australia and New Zealand. (2003) International Social Security Review, v.55 (4) 127-142. Australian Social Issues: A Retrospective. (2005) Australian Journal of Social Issues, 40 (1): 3-11. (with T. Rowse) From Social Issues to Social Policy: Engaging Professionals and the Public. Australian Journal of Social Issues, v.40 (1) 155-180, 2005 (with T. Rowse) Declining Fertility: Intentions, Attitudes and Aspirations. Journal of Sociology, forth. (with E. Gray).