1 May 2016

As of the end of April 2016, the commonwealth government maintained an estimated 1,181 entities, bodies, and administrative relationships. Of those 1,181 entities and bodies, 497 are estimated to be involved in policy design or enforcement of the federal regulatory system. It is estimated that 444 government bodies established by the Rudd and Gillard governments continue to exist, and 198

1 May 2016

This is the first of a series of papers investigating the dimensions of red tape costs in Australia. There is widespread concern that government red tape imposes substantial costs upon the Australian economy. These costs typically come in the form of paperwork, labour retraining and other compliance burdens, the costs of delaying production, and the diversion away from more entrepreneurial

1 December 2015

Many progressives and social democrats have clung to the idea that the Scandinavian countries like Sweden off er the world a vision that other countries should replicate, writes Dr Mikayla Novak. It’s time to wake up to reality. The ideological inclinations and passions of the Australian political left have changed substantially since the collapse of the Soviet empire, as progressives

25 November 2015

Why is $23 billion in welfare spending going towards the top 20% of income earners? The IPA’s Dr Mikayla Novak explains Australia’s welfare problem.

10 September 2015

The last few years has borne witness to an extraordinary growth in government activities. Fiscal stimulus spending, the ramping up of public debt, untrammelled increases in regulation affecting factor and product markets, and the burgeoning growth of the national security apparatus have made us feel less happy, less prosperous, and less safe. If there is any consolation—if not a silver

1 May 2015

When one of the leading participants in the development of the digital economy writes a book about the essences of business management, entrepreneurship, and innovation in the modern world, it pays to sit up and take notice of what he is writing. When the author happens to be Peter Thiel—the billionaire Paypal founder, investor in Facebook, LinkedIn, SpaceX and Airbnb,

26 November 2014

This article from the November 2014 edition of the IPA Review is by Senior Fellow at the IPA, Mikayla Novak. The most obvious long-run benefit of the market system —based on the foundations of individual freedom, private property rights, respect for entrepreneurial creativity, and limited government—has been the phenomenon coined by economist Deirdre McCloskey as ‘The Great Enrichment’ of stupendous growth

15 May 2013

A paper providing the most comprehensive historical estimates of the size of government in Australia. Download document