Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Danusha Jayawardana is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Health Economics, Monash Business School. Her broad research interests are in the economics of child and adolescent development and the economics of mental health.
Her work on child development focuses on understanding how children can thrive regardless of their socioeconomic background, including the factors that shape cognitive and non-cognitive development. She also examines outcomes for children involved in the child protection system, with a particular focus on the effects of out-of-home care. This work examines how placement into care influences children’s wellbeing and what policies can help improve outcomes for vulnerable children.
Her research on mental health examines the socioeconomic determinants and economic costs of mental health, as well as inequities in access to mental healthcare. She is currently a Chief Investigator on an Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project on 'Mental healthcare pricing and socioeconomic inequities in access to care'.
Danusha received her PhD in Economics from the University of Adelaide in 2020 and was awarded the Dean’s Commendation for Doctoral Thesis Excellence. Prior to joining Monash, Danusha was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Queensland.
Research area keywords
- Mental Health and Wellbeing
- Child Development
- Social Determinants of Health
- Health Economics
- Applied Econometrics
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 1 No Poverty -
SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being -
SDG 4 Quality Education -
SDG 5 Gender Equality -
SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth -
SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities -
SDG 13 Climate Action
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
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Mental healthcare pricing and socioeconomic inequities in access to care
Black, N. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Propper, C. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Cheng, T. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Jayawardana, D. (Chief Investigator (CI))
10/06/26 → 9/06/29
Project: Research
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Embedding modular data assets in MADIP
Petrie, D. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Kunz, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Jayawardana, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Black, N. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Badji, S. (Chief Investigator (CI))
Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) (Australia)
1/10/23 → 30/06/24
Project: Research
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High inflation and implications for health
Black, N. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Harris, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Johnston, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Jayawardana, D. (Chief Investigator (CI))
12/09/23 → 30/06/24
Project: Research
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The effect of birth order on children's time use
Black, N., Jayawardana, D. & Heckley, G., Feb 2026, In: Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. 242, 14 p., 107418.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus) -
The growing divide: income inequities in access to mental healthcare in Australia
Black, N., Jayawardana, D., Johnston, D. W. & Trinh, T.-A., Jun 2026, In: SSM - Mental Health. 9, 11 p., 100580.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
Children's time allocation and the socioeconomic gap in human capital
Black, N., Jayawardana, D. & Heckley, G., Sept 2024, In: European Economic Review. 168, 22 p., 104821.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus) -
High inflation and implications for health: a framework to examine the potential pathways through which high inflation may impact on health
Black, N., Harris, A., Jayawardana, D. & Johnston, D., 2024, 11 p. Melbourne Vic Australia : Victorian Health Promotion Foundation.Research output: Other contribution › Other
Open Access -
Excess healthcare costs of psychological distress in young women: evidence from linked national Medicare claims data
Jayawardana, D., Gannon, B., Doust, J. & Mishra, G. D., Mar 2023, In: Health Economics. 32, 3, p. 715-734 20 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile8 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus)
Prizes
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Dean's Commendation for Doctoral Thesis Excellence
Jayawardana, D. (Recipient), 2020
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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First Prize at the Visualise Your Thesis Competition (VYT)
Jayawardana, D. (Recipient), 2019
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Press/Media
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Our study shows younger siblings spend more time on screens than big sisters and brothers
Jayawardana, D., Black, N. & Heckley, G.
3/02/26
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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Undernourished, stressed and overworked: cost-of-living pressures are taking a toll on Australians’ health
Black, N., Harris, A., Jayawardana, D. & Johnston, D.
14/03/24
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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Child marriages in Indonesia increase women’s depression, research shows
16/05/23
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature