Dr Craig Emerson is an eminent economist with 40 years’ experience in public policy, politics and public service. He is Managing Director of Emerson Economics Pty Ltd.

Dr Emerson is Director of the Australian APEC Study Centre at RMIT University, a Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University and an Adjunct Professor at Victoria University’s College of Business. He is also Chair of the McKell Institute.

Dr Emerson is a former Australian Minister for Trade and Competitiveness and Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research. He is also a former Minister for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Small Business.

As Minister for Trade and Competitiveness, Dr Emerson was the architect of the White Paper on Australia in the Asian Century and was appointed Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on Asian Century Policy. Earlier, he developed a program of reform in 27 areas of business regulation and successfully chaired the regulatory reform group of the Council of Australian Governments.

Dr Emerson was economic, trade and environmental adviser to Prime Minister Bob Hawke in the 1980s. He has been a senior public servant, heading the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage and the Southeast Queensland Transit Authority, and was an Assistant Secretary in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Prior to that he was an Economic Analyst at the United Nations.

Dr Emerson has a PhD in Economics from the Australian National University. He writes a fortnightly column for The Australian Financial Review.