Michael Palmer

Michael Palmer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics within the UWA Business School at the University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. His research centres on the economic and social consequences of ill-health and disability, the role of public policy in shaping equality of opportunities, and notions of economic justice and human rights. Palmer specialises in health, social and welfare economics. In his current role, he serves as Graduate Research Coordinator in Economics at the UWA Business School. His previous appointments include Head of Discipline and Senior Lecturer in Economics at RMIT University Vietnam, Research Fellow at the School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, and Managing Director and Lecturer at the Vietnamese-Dutch Masters of Development Economics Program affiliated with the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague. Additionally, he is the Asia-Pacific Regional Coordinator for the Disability Data Initiative, an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne, and has held roles such as Promotions and Publicity Officer for the United Nations Association of Australia NSW branch.

Palmer received a PhD in Health Economics from the Australian National University in 2011. He was awarded the 2021 Excellence in Teaching Award in the Post-Graduate category by the UWA Business School. Key publications include "Extra costs of living with a disability: A review and agenda for research" (Disability and Health Journal, 2017), "Models and measurement in disability: an international review" (Health Policy and Planning, 2012), "Disability and poverty: A conceptual review" (Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 2011), "Can households cope with health shocks in Vietnam?" (Health Economics, 2016), "The economic lives of people with disabilities in Vietnam" (PLoS ONE, 2015), "Inequalities in universal health coverage: evidence from Vietnam" (World Development, 2014), and "Social protection and disability: a call for action" (Oxford Development Studies, 2013). Recent contributions feature "Love Thy Neighbour? Social Attitudes Towards Persons With Disabilities" (World Development, 2024), "Are Employment Protection Laws for Persons with Disabilities Effective in a Developing Country?" (Economic Development and Cultural Change, 2023), and the chapter "Economics of Disability" in the Handbook of Labour, Human Resource and Population Economics (Springer Nature, 2024). Palmer edited "The Disability Data Report 2023: Disability Data Initiative". His scholarship has shaped discourse on disability economics, poverty, health shocks, and policy effectiveness in contexts such as Vietnam and Cambodia.

Professional Email: michael.palmer@uwa.edu.au