In Perth last October, New York University’s Professor Nouriel Roubini issued a dire warning to the business forum of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting that Australia faced the threat of a…
Improving the transparency and evaluation of major infrastructure projects is one way to increase productivity.
AAP
Productivity growth results in more valued output per unit of production input, or the same output for fewer inputs. Growth of productivity requires changes involving the adoption of new technology, better…
Graeme Samuel and Stephen King: two of Australia's most senior regulators sit down together for The Conversation.
What happens when two of Australia’s best known former competition regulators sit down together and talk about the world?
A wide-ranging discussion on the state of Australia’s political debate, xenophobia…
Strong past productivity performance is not the best indicator of current performance.
AAP
As the Commissioners of the Fair Work Act Review work their way through the mountain of submissions, one of the most critical aspects they will be called on to consider is the relationship between labour…
The future of Australia's manufacturing sector will be the focus of today's Jobs Summit.
AAP
Hot on the heels of the Tax Forum in Canberra is today’s Jobs Summit, which is expected to concentrate on the pressing issues facing manufacturing.
Dean of UTS Business School Professor Roy Green, who…
Tony Abbott has tough decisions to make on workplace reform before the next election.
AAP
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…
Record terms of trade have masked dropping productivity growth - until now.
AAP
What is to be done about Australia’s deteriorating productivity performance?
It’s by no means inconceivable that the answer to this question could be “nothing”.
Historical precedent strongly suggests…
Cutting penalty rates and reviving individual workplace agreements will have no impact on productivity.
AAP
Business leaders are insisting changes be made to the Fair Work Act to boost productivity.
Retailers apparently face a crisis because of penalty rates, and an MP agrees that penalty rates stymie productivity…
Expansion is behind a transitory decline in the mining sector productivity growth: but what's the picture for other sectors?
AAP
Official explanations of the deterioration in Australia’s productivity growth have tended to emphasise the especially sharp declines in three sectors – agriculture, mining, and utilities (such as electricity…
Don Argus's focus on industrial relations overlooks the real issues behind slowing productivity growth.
AAP
Former BHP Billiton Chairman Don Argus has blamed inflexible industrial relations laws for Australia’s lagging productivity, describing the Gillard Government’s economic reform agenda as “lazy”.
Argus…
Investment in Australia's ports is one obvious priority to enhance growth - but let's broaden our outlook.
There has been much debate in the popular and political discourse on the state of our national infrastructure.
The general consensus, despite Victoria’s Baillieu government’s failure to put forth any…
Treasury Secretary Dr Martin Parkinson has said boosting Australia's productivity is essential.
AAP
In his address to the Economic and Social Outlook Conference last week, Treasury Secretary Dr Martin Parkinson called for a renewed focus on boosting Australia’s falling productivity to ensure living standards…
Fixing Australia's infrastructure policy regime will be a long, bumpy road.
AAP
Australia’s ability to provide appropriate infrastructure for the future remains under question, despite changes to Infrastructure Australia’s role announced in the 2011 Federal Budget.
The budget has…
Turning off the taps means we spend less, but is that bad?
Flickr/siette
The Productivity Commission’s recent report on Australia’s urban water sector sets out the economic case for reform. One reform they suggest: remove water conservation measures.
In Melbourne, most people…
Significant: Ken Henry's tax review deserves to be on the national agenda.
AAP
The Henry Review released in May last year provided the Commonwealth and state governments with a wealth of good ideas for reform, yet so far the political processes have failed to deliver reforms.
Why…
Recent reports that the Queensland government may build its $2B Sunshine Coast hospital by using a public-private partnership appear to indicate a continuing love affair with this form of funding.
State…
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…
