The 'Peter Pan' of Australian Economic Policy Research

The classic book by J.M. Barrie finishes with Peter Pan inviting the audience to believe in fairies lest more fairies die. Bob Gregory almost invariably invites his audience to believe in economic research - his infectious enthusiasm for ideas is part of it, but he also invites the audience/reader to suspend disbelief, and to accompany him on a journey in hyper-reality of economic research. The analogy of Bob to Peter Pan is developed by reference to my collaborations with Bob during and after my doctoral thesis. Unless social science research creatively explores possibilities with imagination, the overall quality of research dies. Copyright © 2006 The Economic Society of Australia.