After decades in the wilderness, industry policy is back centrally on the economic agenda in the UK. What is striking is how the policy is being driven by strong evidence on what works from years of accumulated…
In the run-up to the Queensland state election, politicians are making all sorts of pledges to win over constituents, but few are willing to tackle a potentially paralysing problem: the spectacular growth…
In one of the most significant moments of the 2010 federal election campaign, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott declared the Coalition’s unpopular WorkChoices policy “dead, buried, cremated.” In an interview…
RUGBY WORLD CUP – In the latest of The Conversation’s series on the Rugby World Cup, Massey University’s Sam Richardson looks at the costs and benefits to the host country New Zealand. New Zealand has…
Australia’s economic future lies underneath our feet. The island continent is blessed with a variety of natural resources but none as plentiful or important as iron ore. Iron is a common element in soils…
China’s phenomenal economic growth during the last three decades has significantly altered its pattern of social stratification. One of the most equal countries in the world has become one of the most…
Most families say they would feel comfortable living on an annual household income of just under $80,000 according to new figures from the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research. However…
The marked increase in international commodities prices and the accompanying rise in the value of the Australian dollar has led to popular concern about a two-speed or multi-speed economy, prompting the…
The proportion of people who expect inflation to breach the Reserve Bank’s annual target of 2-3% increased slightly in June, a survey of 1200 consumers has found. The survey, conducted by the Melbourne…
Late last month, Ben Bernanke held the first ever press conference by a chairman of the US Federal Reserve Bank. For more than an hour, he took questions about the Federal Open Market Committee’s decision…
In recent years productivity growth in Australia has been in alarming decline. A series of government reports have identified some of the causes: infrastructure and skills inadequacies, bottlenecks and…