17 September 2016

It is no foregone conclusion that simply giving government more power and money will fix income inequality. Adam Smith once wryly said “there is a great deal of ruin in a nation”, and many would argue this statement is aptly represented in the reemergence of an anti‑immigration, anti‑trade populism mainly on the right, but also from the far left, in

5 September 2016

A nominal GDP target for central banks isn’t without merit, but a monetary fix won’t be a cure-all for our economic problems. Given these chaotic days of unorthodox monetary policy practice, such as ultra-low interest rates and quantitative easing, talk about reforming the way central banks manage the monetary system is seemingly at an all-time high. Bursting from the academic

22 August 2016

Despite recent concerns raised by the head of Australia’s competition watchdog, privatisation remains a viable reform option. Even though it has been firmly established as a modern economic reform mainstay, the notion of privatisation remains a controversial one among the public at large. There are vested interests that will disparate privatisation as a matter of course, regardless of its successes,

19 August 2016

The Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) welcomes this Productivity Commission Draft report (henceforth the ‘Draft’) on the Regulation of Agriculture and encourages the focus on the impact of regulation and red tape on this primary industry. While Australian agricultural production is expected to rise to over $60 billion for the first time this financial year, productivity and competitiveness headwinds remain.

3 August 2016

To secure Queensland’s mining future, cutting onerous red tape must be a key reform priority. Given the outlook for economic development in China, India and other developing countries, mining is likely to remain a Queensland mainstay in the years and decades to come. Although renewable energies have a place in future world energy supply, the fact is millionsin the world

1 August 2016

 What historical events got the West to a position today where it can worry about patchy growth wihthin a material world of unprecedented riches? writes Mikayla Novak Patchy signs of economic recovery in Australia and the rest of the Western World aside, these last few years could be best described in economic terms as a persistent ‘Great Exhaustion’. The uninspiring

22 July 2016

The politically effective Mediscare campaign is a powerful reminder of Australia’s growing reluctance to pursue health sector reform. With the 2016 federal election result favouring the Turnbull government, the policy wonks are now busily absorbing the ramifications of a long, exhausting campaign for political supremacy. But one thing was made crystal clear even before election night: reforming healthcare is difficult,

8 July 2016

The federal Parliament is now stacked with politicians peddling anti-globalisation agendas contrary to Australia’s interests. The underlying motivations for the Turnbull government to call the 2016 election, refilling the upper house with compliant legislators but maintaining a stable working majority in the lower house, have backfired spectacularly. At the time of writing the government believes it will scrape back into

20 June 2016

The Australian economy is shackled by red tape. Poorly designed and low quality red tape stifles growth, suppresses entrepreneurship and hinders our international competitiveness. Cutting red tape at all levels of government is now our only solution. However, both sides of federal politics are yet to make a clear comprehensive commitment to cut red tape. In this short paper we

3 May 2016

This budget offers no credible path back to surplus and has permanently entrenched big government. The IPA’s Dr Mikayla Novak explains her view on the 2016 federal budget. The IPA’s Dr Mikayla Novak On The 2016 Federal Budget This budget offers no credible path back to surplus and has permanently entrenched big government. The IPA’s Dr Mikayla Novak explains her