Chief Economists Forum 2025

Dr Angela Jackson is Lead Economist at Impact Economics and Policy and has authored a number of high profile reports on health, aged care, disability, housing and gender policy. Angela started her career as an economist at the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, working across tax, fiscal and social policy. As the then Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner's Deputy Chief of Staff, Angela was responsible for providing policy advice across fiscal policy and all areas of social policy, including National Health Reform.

Angela is also a part-time Commissioner at the Commonwealth Grants Commission, Chair of the Victorian National Heart Foundation Advisory Board, and National Chair of the Women in Economics Network. She was recently appointed to the interim Economic Inclusion Committee that is advising the Commonwealth Government on the adequacy of income support payments and measures to enhance economic inclusion.

Angela holds a Masters in International Health Policy (Health Economics) with Distinction from the London School of Economics and Political Science, a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) from the University of Melbourne and a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Tasmania. In 2021, Angela was awarded her PhD on the Economics of Disability in Australia from Monash University.

Angela has published articles in peer reviewed journals and major Australian newspapers, and regularly appears in the national media providing economic commentary.

Jo Masters is the Chief Economist of Barrenjoey Capital Partners, a proudly Australian financial services firm. She focuses on analysing trends across the Australian and global economies and financial markets, delivering those insights to investors, and senior members and executives of government and business.

Jo has been a highly regarded part of the economic debate in Australia for over 20 years and she regularly shares her views at major policy, industry and educational forums, as well as in the domestic and international media. She ranked equal first in the Top 20 Investors segment in the 2023 Peter Lee survey and third in the KangaNews Fixed Income survey.

Her career started in banking and financial markets, with 14 years at Macquarie Bank in various roles across economics, strategy and foreign exchange sales, before moving to ANZ. Most recently, Jo was the Chief Economist for EY Oceania.

Jo holds a Master of Economics from the University of Sydney. She is a mentor for the Minerva Foundation and an Executive Member for the Australian Business Economists.