Gigi Foster is a U.S. born academic and economist. She is currently a professor of economics at the University of New South Wales.[1]
She regularly appears in the Australian media on the topic of economics, having been a panellist on discussion television show Q&A[2][3] and host of a radio show on the ABC.[4]
Foster received a Bachelor of Arts (Ethics, Politics, and Economics) from Yale University, and completed a PhD in economics at the University of Maryland.[1]
Foster hosts The Economists on the ABC with Australian economics journalist Peter Martin.[4]
Foster attracted criticism over her stance to Australia's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] In particular, she criticised the COVID Zero-centred approach adopted by Victoria and other jurisdictions within Australia, believing that the costs to the economy outweighed the potential benefits of reducing case numbers.[6][7] Her employer the University of New South Wales distanced themselves from her comments which were televised during the show Q&A.[8]
Gigi Foster was named Young Economist of The Year for 2019 by the Economics Society of Australia.[9]