‘Go East, Young Man’: A Conversation with Selwyn Cornish AM

Abstract

AbstractThis conversation was held with Selwyn Cornish in mid-2023 in Canberra. It covers some of the many contributions Selwyn has made, and is continuing to make, to both the history of economic thought and Australian academic life in his long career at the Australian National University. It also covers his interest in the lives of practical economists and the history of the Reserve Bank.Keywords: CornishAustralian economicsAustralian National UniversityKeynesMelville Disclosure statementNo potential conflicts of interest or funding were reported by the authors.Notes1 A distance of over 300 kilometres.2 Malcolm Treadgold is an emeritus professor of economics at the University of New England. He has had three articles published in History of Economics Review.3 Bruce Bennet became professor of English at ADFA. His publications included the Oxford Literary History of Australia.4 Cited by Coleman (Citation2015, 11).5 Merab Harris’s career is discussed in Millmow (Citation2022).6 Ray Byron did a PhD at the London School of Economics and became an econometrician at ANU.7 Frank Harman went on to specialise in energy economics and taught at Murdoch University.8 Professor Tucker’s career is summarised in Harper (Citation2002).9 Professor Butlin’s career is summarised in Cornish (Citation2004b) and Shapley (Citation2021).10 Selwyn’s obituary of Arndt is given in Cornish (Citation2002a) and a biography in Coleman, Cornish, and Drake (Citation2007). They co-wrote Cornish and Arndt (Citation2001).11 Swan’s time in India is described in Cornish and Jha (Citation2017).12 More of Selwyn’s reflections on Geoff Harcourt can be found in Cornish and Hawkins (Citation2022a, Citation2022b).13 Selwyn reviewed two of the Skidelsky volumes in Cornish (Citation1994, Citation2002c). He also reviewed a number of other books about Keynes and Keynesianism. Selwyn wrote his own biographical essay on Keynes; Cornish (Citation2004a).14 He later wrote a short biography of Keynes; Clarke (Citation2009).15 Her keynote address on Meade to the 2022 HETSA conference was published as Howson (Citation2023).16 Caldwell and Klausinger (Citation2022), reviewed by Endres (Citation2023). and Cornish (Citationforthcoming).17 White and Keynes fought for their different visions of the post-war international financial architecture at Bretton Woods. See also Broughton (Citation2021), reviewed in Cornish (Citation2023).18 Selwyn’s papers on Melville include Cornish (Citation1993, Citation1999, Citation2002b, Citation2008, Citation2014, Citation2021).19 The two papers are Cornish (Citation1978, Citation1981). The latest Australian employment White Paper is discussed in Cornish and Hawkins (Citation2023).20 The book was awarded the Bruce McComish Prize by the Australian Economic and Business History Society in 2007.21 Cornish and Jha (Citation2017) was awarded the Peter Groenewegen Prize in 2019 for best article published in History of Economics Review.22 Cornish (Citation1978, Citation1981).23 Cornish (Citation2016), Cornish and Schuler (Citation2019) and Cornish (Citation2002d and Citation2015).24 Some recent examples with the interviewers include Cornish and Hawkins (Citation2022a, Citation2022b, Citation2022c, 2023) and Cornish and Millmow (Citation2016, Citation2021).25 ARC Future fellow and ANU honorary professor.26 ANU Pro-chancellor since 2017, and executive general manager for corporate affairs at Wesfarmers.27 ‘The stealing time’, Economist, 13 June 2015.28 Giblin (Citation1951) wrote the first volume and, after Syd Butlin (Citation1983) died before he could complete the next volume, Schedvin (Citation1992) wrote the second. Gollan (Citation1968) wrote a history of the early years of the Commonwealth Bank, to which the Reserve Bank is the legal successor.29 Cornish (Citation2010, Citation2021, Citation2022a).30 Cornish (Citation2022b) is Selwyn’s submission to the inquiry, some of which is reflected in Cornish and Hawkins (Citation2022c).31 Section 50 (1) of the Banking Act 1959 specifies that ‘The Reserve Bank may, with the approval of the Treasurer, make regulations – (a) making provision for or in relation to the control of rates of interest payable to or by banks, or to or by other persons in the course of any banking business carried on by them’.32 For more about this conflict, see Millmow (Citation2007) and Hawkins (Citation2010).Additional informationNotes on contributorsSelwyn CornishSelwyn Cornish AM is an honorary associate professor in the Research School of Economics at the Australian National University. He is the official historian of the Reserve Bank of Australia.Alex MillmowAlex Millmow is an honorary research fellow with Federation University Australia. He is the president of the History of Economic Thought Society of Australia.John HawkinsJohn Hawkins is a senior lecturer in the Canberra School of Politics, Economics & Society at the University of Canberra. He is co-editor of History of Economics Review.