Stephen Walters is Principal and Chief Economist of Optimal Economics, based in Sydney.
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Stephen previously was Chief Economist for the Business Council of Australia (BCA) and Chief Economist of NSW. Before joining NSW Treasury, Stephen was Chief Economist with the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and, for 14 years, was Chief Economist for investment bank J.P.Morgan. Stephen previously was Senior Economist with Access Economics in Melbourne and International Economist with Norwich Union and Alliance Capital in the United Kingdom. He also spent seven years as an Economist with the Treasury in Perth.

Stephen holds a Bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Western Australia and a Master's degree in applied finance from the University of Melbourne. He also has qualifications in journalism and graduated from the AICD's Company Directors Course in 2017. Stephen has published three books, with a fourth to be published soon.

Stephen is a member of the Australian Statistics Advisory Council (ASAC) and is on the advisory board of the Sydney Investors and Professionals Business Network (SIPBN). He is a former chair of the Executive Committee of the Australian Business Economists (ABE) and is on the National Executive of the Australian Republic Movement (ARM).