CofFEE Conference 2009

This is the 11th Path to Full Employment Conference and the 16th National Conference on Unemployment will be held at the University of Newcastle, Australia from Thursday, December 3 to Friday, December 4, 2009.

This year will be the first for some time that official unemployment rates will rise. The overall predictions are that there could be around a million people unemployed in Australia by year's end. The underemployment rate will also rise. At present, around 10 per cent of the available labour force is unable to get enough work. If this downturn approaches the depth of the 1991 recession, this figure will jump to 20 per cent or more. A strong employment-centric federal response is needed to avoid an escalation in joblessness. This year's conference will be particularly important in sharing ideas from the best researchers in the area about how we can avoid major labour market devastation.

Papers are particularly welcome in the following research and policy areas:
 * What are the origins of the global financial crisis? Is the Australian government's response adequate? How could it be improved?
 * Any research on unemployment - its dimensions, causes, cures.
 * 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?
 * How can the new Federal Government's social inclusion agenda be designed and implemented?
 * Employment guarantees - why are several countries now turning to Job Guarantee-type policies to combat poverty and unemployment? What are the lessons for Australia?
 * Why do disparities in regional labour markets persist? What is the extent of the problem and its solutions? Spatial patterns of work and housing.
 * Long term, youth, disabled and indigenous unemployment.

Abstracts are due 13th July 2009. For more information on paper submission, please see the conference website: http://e1.newcastle.edu.au/coffee/conferences/2009/index.cfm. This CfP was obtained from WikiCFP