Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Michael Shields is a Professor at the Centre for Health Economics.
His research is in the areas of applied health, labour and happiness economics. He has worked on a wide range of topics including life satisfaction, socioeconomic inequalities, mental illness, measuring health status, intra-household allocation and decision-making, labour market discrimination, nursing labour markets and immigration.
He has a particular interest in the socioeconomic determinants and dynamics of health and wellbeing. Some of his most recent studies have focused on the links between local area economic conditions and health, the characteristics of individuals who are resilient, socioeconomics gradients in social health, the effect of spousal bereavement on loneliness and social isolation, the impact of job insecurity on health, and how economic preferences are related to health status.
His research has been published in leading international journals such as the American Economic Review, the Journal of Economic Literature, the Journal of Business and Economics Statistics, the American Economic Journal: Applied, the Economic Journal, Journal of Applied Econometrics, Journal of Health Economics, and Demography.
Michael is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Science in Australia (FASSA); and a Research Fellow of the IZA.
Research area keywords
- Health Economics
- Labour Economics
- Economics of Happiness
- 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):
-
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 12 Responsible Consumption and Production -
SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
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
-
Towards a holistic priority setting approach for chronic disease management to tackle loneliness and social isolation in Australia
Mihalopoulos, C. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Engel, L. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Berk, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Lim, M. H. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Sanci, L. A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Zoungas, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Skouteris, H. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Dow, B. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Shields, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Earnest, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Hamilton, M. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Ayton, D. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Le, L. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Barker, S. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Reavley, N. J. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Jennings, G. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Birrell, E. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Wild, J. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Hayes, L. (Associate Investigator (AI)) & Kunz, J. (Associate Investigator (AI))
1/09/23 → 31/08/28
Project: Research
-
Microeconometric Analysis of Socioeconomic Inequity in Mental Healthcare
Johnston, D. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Shields, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Black, N. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Harris, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Lubman, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Knapp, M. (Partner Investigator (PI))
18/03/21 → 31/12/24
Project: Research
-
Insecure Work and the Mental Health of Workers and their Families
Johnston, D. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Shields, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Cobb-Clark, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)), de New, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Mutch, R. (Partner Investigator (PI))
18/12/20 → 17/12/23
Project: Research
-
Econometric Studies of the Dynamics of Loneliness and Social Isolation
Shields, M. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)) & Pudney, S. (Partner Investigator (PI))
ARC - Australian Research Council, Monash University – Internal School Contribution, University of Sheffield
30/05/18 → 31/12/22
Project: Research
-
New Perspectives on the Socioeconomic Determinants and Dynamics of Mental Health and Wellbeing using Panel, Cohort and Internet Search Data
Shields, M. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI))
ARC - Australian Research Council
1/01/14 → 30/06/19
Project: Research
-
The impact of retirement on loneliness: evidence from Australia
Kunz, J., Trinh, T.-A., Berk, M., Earnest, A., Engel, L., Filia, K., Le, L.K.-D., Lim, M. H., Skouteris, H., Shields, M. A. & Mihalopoulos, C., 2026, (Accepted/In press) In: Scientific Reports. 23 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
Are recessions bad for loneliness?
Kunz, J. S., Trinh, T.-A., Berk, M., Earnest, A., Engel, L., Hamilton, M., Hayes, L., Khanh-Dao Le, L., Lim, M., Rizal, F., Skouteris, H., Shields, M. A. & Mihalopoulos, C., Nov 2025, In: Social Science and Medicine. 384, 10 p., 118500.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Link opens in a new tab Citation (Scopus) -
Horizontal inequity in the use of mental healthcare in Australia
Black, N., Johnston, D. W., Knapp, M., Shields, M. A. & Wong, G. H. Y., Feb 2025, In: Health Economics. 34, 2, p. 297-315 19 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
5 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus) -
Effect of in utero exposure to air pollution on adulthood hospitalizations
Martin-Bassols, N., de New, S. C., Shields, M. A. & Johnston, D. W., 2024, In: Journal of Urban Health. 101, p. 92-108 17 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile6 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus) -
The importance of sampling frequency for estimates of well-being dynamics
Hoskins, S., Johnston, D. W., Kunz, J. S., Shields, M. A. & Staub, K. E., Sept 2024, In: Economics Letters. 242, 4 p., 111880.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus)