Lisa’s research field is on the general area of applied microeconomics. Her work has a strong focus on aspects of behaviour that involve the consumption of risky products, in particular, gambling, smoking and alcohol consumption. Her work has spanned both the theoretical and micro-econometric aspects social and economic inclusion and the academic impact of this work is clear from the important contributions she has made leading to publications in high quality international journals. Lisa endeavours to communicate her findings to the broadest audience possible and her work has been published in leading economics, statistical and public health journals. These include the American Economic Review, The Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series A, and Social science and Medicine, among others. Her work has a strong welfare and wellbeing focus, helping to strengthen social and economic inclusion through clear policy recommendations.
Her expertise within the field of the economics of gambling and policy has led Lisa to act as a consultant to both the UK and Victoria governments on aspects related to problem gambling and gambling legislation.
Lisa actively embraces opportunities to work in partnership with key stakeholders and external organisations. She also aims to disseminate her research findings to policy makers and so have impact through policy channels. She sees this as an effective way to allow her research to better the lives of those affected by social and economic exclusion and so improve the wellbeing and sustainability of our communities and societies.
Throughout her career Lisa has shown a strong commitment to policy work in numerous reports and bulletins that she has prepared for government as well as giving government briefing seminars summarising her research findings. Early in her career she worked on secondment as an Economist in The Department for Culture Media and Sport, UK Government gaining valuable first-hand experience of government policy making processes. She has also acted as a consultant and expert adviser for the Victorian State Government in Australia and as an expert adviser to the UK National Lottery Commission. This reflects her ability to mesh publication quality research with the policy dimension.
In summary, through her highly developed economic and statistical tool kit Lisa has influenced academic thought and scholarship in regard to economic and social inclusion/exclusion and the impact on society of such poor life outcomes. Her work has reached the widest academic community through Lisa’s publication strategy. Further, she has been active in policy circles, both within Australia and internationally. Lisa sees economic and social policy as an important instrument through which society is protected from harm and through which healthy, sustainable communities can be created. Strong economic and social inclusion can only occur when those engaged in research actively engage with service provides, other stakeholders and policy makers.