Peter Abelson

Peter Abelson is a Visiting Fellow at the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University (ANU) and a part-time economic advisor to the NSW Treasury since 2006. He previously held a Personal Chair in Economics at Macquarie University (2001–2005) and was a Visiting Scholar at the University of Sydney (2006–2012), where he taught public finance. From 2012 to 2017, he served as the elected Mayor of Mosman Council in Sydney.

Abelson holds a B.A. from Oxford University, an M.Sc. in Economics from the London School of Economics, and a Ph.D. from London University. His expertise spans public economics, cost-benefit analysis, and policy evaluation, with a focus on transport, public health, education, environmental planning, and housing policies. He has conducted extensive consulting work in Australia and over 30 countries, including China, India, Thailand, and Papua New Guinea.

Abelson is the author of Public Economics, a leading textbook in public finance, with the 4th edition published online. His research emphasizes practical policy analysis, including evaluations of major infrastructure projects, healthcare systems, and urban development strategies.