Economic Policy
Freely functioning markets embedded in robust institutions underpin the strong economies that give Australians and New Zealanders the capacity and power, as individuals and through voluntary and public sector organisations, to help those who experience hardship and to play their part in maintaining our physical environments.
The advent of the Global Financial Crisis is giving rise to even bigger government hence the CIS sees an increasingly urgent need for further and continuing economic reform. It is especially important that we rationalise the regulatory environment and reform the way services are provided by the public sector. The new policies we need should be based on the same kinds of fundamental economic principles that have underpinned reforms of the financial system and product markets.
Publications
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Price Drivers: Five Case Studies in How Government is Making Australia Unaffordable
| 14 Dec 2011 | Policy MonographsGovernment influences price levels in more ways than is immediately apparent. Through its direct and indirect interventions... Read More...
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Trans-Atlantic Fiscal Follies: The Sequel
| 30 Nov 2011 | Policy ForumWhat started as the US subprime crisis became the global financial crisis and has now developed into the Trans-Atlantic sovereign... Read More...
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The Decade-long Binge: How Government Squandered Ten Years of Economic Prosperity
| 17 Nov 2011 | Issue AnalysisGovernment spending in New Zealand has increased enormously over the past decade in order to meet social goals. From 2000-2010... Read More...
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Free-Trade Ferries: A Case for Competition
| 27 Oct 2011 | Issue AnalysisSydney needs a network of ferries that is able to cater to the city’s changing demographics but is also financially sustainable... Read More...
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Working Towards Self-Reliance: Three Lessons for Disability Pension Reform
| 05 Oct 2011 | Policy MonographsTo successful reduce the number of pensioners on disability support, policymakers must apply the lessons of other welfare... Read More...
Opinion & Commentary
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Hallmarks of an EU power play
| 24 Jan 2012 | Business SpectatorThe tragedy of the European crisis is not that it was caused by striving for too much economic efficiency. The real tragedy ... Read More
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Why Merkozy is destined to fail
| 12 Jan 2012 | Business SpectatorThe eurozone crisis may soon return with more bad news from bond markets. Pity Europe’s leaders are too busy to deal with ... Read More
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Testing the RBA's DNA
| 05 Jan 2012 | Business SpectatorAs a practical first step towards more RBA independence, perhaps politicians of all parties could refrain from both applauding ... Read More
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Why reform worked in 1985
| 03 Jan 2012 | The AustralianUnlike Gillard and Swan, Hawke and Keating knew what they wanted to do... Read More
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The Fightback! lesson: how politics can stymie good public policy
| 26 Dec 2011 | The Sydney Morning HeraldTwenty years ago, the Liberal-National Party coalition released Fightback!, the most comprehensive and market-oriented policy ... Read More
Ideas@TheCentre
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Time to drop the Dick
| 03 Feb 2012Time for Dick Smith to go – he may have been a brilliant entrepreneur, but his past achievements sadly do not give his ...
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US presidential race taxing
| 27 Jan 2012Sketchy tax system causes problems for presidential hopefuls....
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Car industry handouts are childish
| 27 Jan 2012Paying for an industry that can’t support itself is lunacy. Car companies need to bite the bullet and find a sustainable ...
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The economist who stole Christmas
| 23 Dec 2011Spending lots of money on pointless gifts is bad for the economic in the long term. Buy something for yourself instead....
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Heart is where the shops are
| 23 Dec 2011Shopping from your local retailer just doesn’t make financial sense. But the loss of our high streets may mean the loss ...
