Rate My Professor Michael Dockery

Associate Professor Michael Dockery is a Principal Research Fellow at the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre within Curtin Business School at Curtin University. He earned his PhD in Economics from Curtin University in 2002 and a BBus (Hons) in Economics from the same institution in 1991. Dockery's extensive career at Curtin University began in 1998 as a Research Fellow jointly appointed with the Institute for Research into International Competitiveness and the Centre for Labour Market Research. He advanced through positions including Research Fellow, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow from 2003 to 2008, Senior Lecturer in 2008, Associate Professor in the School of Economics and Finance from 2009 to 2013, and Director of the Centre for Labour Market Research from 2010 to 2013. Since 2013, he has served as Associate Professor and Principal Research Fellow in Curtin Business School, associated with the John Curtin Institute of Public Policy and the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre. Earlier roles include Administrative Services Officer in the Economic Analysis Branch of the Department of Employment, Education and Training from 1990 to 1993 and Research Officer for a Federal Member of Parliament from 1988 to 1989.

Dockery's research focuses on labour economics, economics of education and training, Indigenous socio-economic outcomes, subjective wellbeing, housing assistance policy, work and family dynamics, and labour market experiences. He has authored over 60 peer-reviewed journal articles, numerous book chapters, and research reports. Notable publications include 'Culture and Wellbeing: The case of Indigenous Australians' (Social Indicators Research, 2010), 'Life on the minimum wage in Australia: an empirical investigation' (Australian Journal of Labour Economics, 2010), 'Does school socio-economic status influence university outcomes?' (Australian Journal of Labour Economics, 2015), 'A wellbeing approach to mobility and its application to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians' (Social Indicators Research, 2016), and recent works such as 'Footprints in Time: Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children Housing Research Report' (2026). His research utilizes longitudinal datasets like HILDA and Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children, producing seminal findings on cultural engagement's positive effects on Indigenous wellbeing and links between labour markets, education, and wellbeing for marginalized groups. Dockery has secured competitive grants from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute and National Centre for Vocational Education Research, contributed to policy via the Productivity Commission and Fair Work Commission, and serves on the editorial boards of the Australian Journal of Labour Economics and Journal of Happiness Studies.