Recent publications
Misguided Palm Oil Campaigns Won't Help Orang-Utans, But Will Harm Asia's Poor
"Misguided campaigns by the Melbourne Zoo, celebrities and activists lack understanding of why forest and orang-utans are being lost. It isn't palm oil it's poverty", said Tim Wilson, Director of the Intellectual Property and Free Trade Unit at...
No Longer Us versus Them
No Longer Us versus Them is a timely research paper that exposes the myths perpetuated by vested interests and populist politicians who argue for protection for domestic jobs, to the detriment of us all.
A growing risk: The impacts and consequences of rising state government employment
The greatest increase in total state public sector staffing has been in the area of government administration. There is also evidence of growth in ‘back office' staff in the key service delivery areas of education, health and policing.
How much do we actually spend on early childhood?
International comparisons of public spending data are ubiquitous in economics. But what do such exercises actually tell us? When performed correctly by economists, international comparisons can often provide useful information and insights into...
Submission to the Queensland Government on its Proposed Gas Reservation Policy
Queensland's reserves of Coal Seam Gas (CSG) are a major asset. Development of the gas may have been assisted by regulations that require 13/15 per cent of electricity in the state to be generated by gas. Some deposits may also benefit from a...
The natural history of climate change
Some of us underpin our environmentalism with political and romantic idealism, others underpin it with emotion, others have a religious view of the environment, some underpin their environmental view with economic pragmatism and many, like me, try...
Submission to the Senate Inquiry into Stimulus Packages
Australia has experienced a generation of economic reform. The Australian economy is much more resilient to economic downturns now than it has been in the past. Of course our economy is somewhat vulnerable to international events and we do not...
Tax Cuts Not Stimulus Spending
Over the course of the 2008-09 financial year the Australian Government took a series of significant fiscal policy decisions which were designed to act as an economic stimulus. This paper asks the following simple hypothetical question: if those...
Tax Cuts Instead of Stimulus Spending Gives Average Australian $8,200 Tax Cut
Over the course of the 2008-09 financial year the Australian Government took a series of significant fiscal policy decisions which were designed to act as an economic stimulus. This paper asks the following simple hypothetical question: if those...
Australia's Forgotten Future
Professor Geoffrey Blainey speaking at the launch of Mark Lopez's The Little Black Schoolbook: Vol. 2.