For two decades, the Australian Agricultural Economics Society has sponsored an annual prize for Master's theses. At the Society's Annual General Meeting on 13 February 1985, the Society resolved to sponsor a biennial prize for Ph.D. theses, with the first award being made for a thesis accepted during the two-year period ending 30 September 1985. Both the Ph.D. and Master's prizes relate to theses in the field of agricultural economics accepted by an Australian or New Zealand University. For each prize, the most meritorious thesis is selected by a panel of three members appointed by the Society.