Rate My Professor Martin Watts

Emeritus Professor Martin Watts holds the position of Emeritus Professor in the College of Human and Social Futures (Economics) at the University of Newcastle, Australia. He earned his PhD from the University of British Columbia, Master of Arts from the University of Manchester, and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Essex. His academic career at the University of Newcastle began in 1991 as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Economics, progressing to Associate Professor in 2002 and Professor in the Faculty of Business and Law in 2010. He served as Head of the School of Economics, Politics and Tourism (formerly School of Policy) from 2002 to mid-2007 and Acting Head of the Department of Economics on multiple occasions between 1994 and 2001. Previously, he was Senior Lecturer at Monash University from 1983 to 1991 and Lecturer there from 1975 to 1982. From 1998 to 2007, he was Deputy Director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE). He holds membership in the Australian Research Council since 2012 and maintains active involvement as a Senior Research Fellow at CofFEE, with research interests in gender and work, and the costs of unemployment.

Professor Watts specializes in labour economics, macroeconomics, and related fields, with research interests including the measurement and interpretation of segregation indices, spatial grouping algorithms, spatial econometrics, contemporary macroeconomic and labour market policy, commuting behaviour, gender segregation, local labour markets, quantitative methods, full employment, and job guarantee schemes. He has made significant contributions through numerous publications, including over 20 book chapters and 30 conference papers. Notable book chapters include 'Unpacking the dynamics of fiscal deficits and debt' (2024), 'Is Overt Monetary Financing a viable option in the post-pandemic era?' (2024), 'Should the Implementation of Monetary Policy Be Subject to Rules?' with G. Pantelopoulos (2022), 'Institutional Practice and the Inadequacy of Orthodox Macroeconomics: A Challenge for Pluralism?' with A. Nadolny, J. Juniper, and G. Pantelopoulos (2021), and 'The Job Guarantee and Eurozone Stabilization' with A. Juniper and T. Sharpe (2017). He co-authored the textbook Macroeconomics: A Modern Money Theory Approach with William Mitchell and L. Randall Wray (2019), as well as the book Contemporary Theories of Unemployment (1997). Other key works include the journal article 'Occupational gender segregation: Index measurement and econometric interpretation' (1998).