The Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE) will hold its’ annual conference on:
This will be the 13th Path to Full Employment and 18th National Unemployment.

The global economy is still stuck in the aftermath of the worst economic crisis in 80 years and the legacy has been tens of millions unemployed, a large proportion of productive capacity lying idle, and vast quantities of output and income foregone and lost forever.

The political landscape seems divorced from this reality and instead of creating jobs, governments are seeking ways to impose fiscal austerity to reduce their budget deficits at a time when private spending is still mostly weak.

The Conference seeks to explore the apparent contradictions of the policy stances that are now emerging amidst the global unemployment crisis.

*** TOPICS ***
While papers in any area of labour market analysis will be of interest, papers will be particularly welcome in the following research and policy areas:

* Reflections on the global financial crisis? Fiscal austerity, reform agendas etc.
* Any research on unemployment - its dimensions, causes, cures.
* The labour market and the ageing debate.
* The policy challenge of emerging skill shortages and underutilisation - how do we design effective solutions to both?
* The increasing problem of underemployment and marginal workers.
* Why has work become more precarious? Is it a problem? What are the solutions?
* What is full employment? How is it defined and measured? How close are we to achieving full employment? What are the challenges that remain?
* Employment guarantees versus income guarantees - pros and cons.
* Why do disparities in regional labour markets persist? What is the extent of the problem and its solutions? Analysing spatial patterns of work and housing.
* Long-term, youth, disabled and indigenous unemployment.

*** SUBMISSION OF ABSTRACTS ***
Contributions can be made to both the Refereed (peer reviewed) or Non - Refereed streams.

Refereed papers will be included in a printed volume of conference proceedings (which will constitute a referred conference paper under Australian government rules).

Whilst the deadline for the submission of abstracts closed in August, we still may consider your abstract on a case by case basis.

Those interested are asked to visit our website: http://e1.newcastle.edu.au/coffee/conferences/2011/Guidelines.cfm for the formatting requirements needed for the submission of papers as well as paper deadlines.

Please submit your abstract to the CofFEE office: coffee@newcastle.edu.au

*** REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN ***
Registration is now open for our conference.

Our registration fees are as follows:
Early Bird Rate: $380 (until the 31st October 2011, save $50 on the standard registration fee)
Concession: $260 (applies to full time student, government pensioners and the unemployed only)
Single Day Rate: $260
Single Day Concession Rate: $170

+++ REGISTER FOR 2 CONFERENCES IN 1! +++
Register for both the CofFEE conference and the Society of Heterodox Economists (SHE) conference at the same time!

Early Bird Rate: $480 (until the 31st October 2011)
Standard Rate: $530
Concession: $280

All registration fees are in Australian Dollars. The Early Bird, Standard and Full Concession rates all include the CofFEE and SHE conference dinners.

To register for the CofFEE Conference only:
http://e1.newcastle.edu.au/coffee/events/registration.cfm to register online.

For 2 in 1 registration:
http://e1.newcastle.edu.au/coffee/events/registration_2in1.cfm

*** KEY NOTE SPEAKERS ANNOUNCED ***
It is with great pleasure that we announce our key note speakers for this year.

Professor L. Randall Wray
Randy is a Senior Research Associate at the Center for Full Employment and Price Stability (CFEPS), Missouri-Kansas City. He is also a visiting Senior Scholar at the Jerome Levy Economics Institute of Bard College.

After receiving a degree in Social Sciences in the late 70’s, he went on to receive his masters in economics at Washington University in St Louis., before studying under Hyman P. Minsky to gain his PhD in economics in the 80’s. He then taught for more than a decade at the University of Denver and has been a visiting professor at Bard College; the University of Bologna; and the University of Rome (La Sapienza). He is a past president of the Association for Institutionalist Thought (AFIT), and has served on the board of directors of the Association for Evolutionary Economics (AFEE).

His research focus is on monetary theory and policy, macroeconomics, and employment policy. He is currently writing on modern money, the monetary theory of production, social security, and rising incarceration rates (Penal Keynesianism). He is developing policies to promote true full employment, focusing on Hyman P. Minsky's "employer of last resort" proposal as a way to bring low-skilled, prime-age males back into the labour force. With Levy Institute President Dimitri B. Papadimitriou, he is working to publish, or republish, the work of Minsky’s, and is using this approach to analyse the current global financial crisis.


Dr John Falzon
John is Chief Executive Officer of the St Vincent de Paul Society National Council of Australia. He has written and spoken widely on the structural causes of marginalisation and inequality in Australia and has long been an advocate for a fairer and more equitable society. John has worked in academia, in research and advocacy with NGOs, and in community development in large public housing estates. He has studied Poetics, Theology, Philosophy, Politics and Social Analysis. He is also a published poet. He was a participant in the 2020 Summit, has served as a member of the ACOSS Board and has also served on Government advisory committees such as the Community Response Task Force and the Energy White Paper High Level Consultative Committee. He is a member of the Australian Social Inclusion Board.



*** ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ***
Additional information regarding the conference and our program, may be obtained from our website: http://e1.newcastle.edu.au/coffee/conferences/2011/index.cfm later in 2011. Please visit us for more information.