When pursuing economic reforms in post-conflict and fragile states, development practitioners typically seek to establish an institutional framework within which markets can effectively function, price signals are accurate, and rents are eliminated. Establishment of market-enabling ‘good...

Why is it that Papua New Guinea, a country of nearly nine million people – 3.2 million of whom are aged 20 to 45 years of age, have so few workers able to access high-paying jobs in its near neighbours? In relation to opportunities for low-skilled, temporary work, Papua New Guinea in 2017-18...

‘Institutions matter because they structure the incentives and constraints facing individuals. However...the same institutions work differently in different circumstances, particularly in the absence or presence of open access systems' (North et al. 2010, p. 256).Development agencies typically...

In 2016, following Tropical Cyclone (TC) Winston, Fiji became the First Pacific Island country to channel post-disaster assistance through its existing social safety net programs. With wind speeds of up to 306km/h, TC Winston was one of the most powerful cyclones ever recorded in the Southern...

The role of institutions, both formal and informal, are important for the development of a country. While existing literature tends to focus primarily on formal institutions, informal institutions play a vital role in the delivery of public services in countries where formal institutions are...

Papua New Guinea's (PNG) resource boom has come to an end. Theory suggests that the real exchange rate (RER) should subsequently depreciate in order to restore internal and external balance. In practice, however, the imposition of foreign exchange controls has led to a large backlog in foreign...

To date, little detailed research has been undertaken on the university experience of students in Papua New Guinea, or their career preferences and expectations; this type of research is ordinarily canvassed in graduate exit surveys. This study addresses this gap by analysing and discussing the...

This study investigates the long-run effects of foreign aid on donor exports to recipient countries, using Australian exports to Asia as a case study. Dynamic panel econometric techniques and the Gravity Model of international trade are used to explore the relationship between official...

Introduced in 2012, the Tuition Fee Free (TFF) policy has become a flagship policy of the Papua New Guinea (PNG) government. Since 2012, further changes to this policy have been introduced; these changes continue to reduce financial barriers to school attendance and attempt to recentralise control...

In Papua New Guinea (PNG), government responses to corruption have received a great deal of media attention over the past decade. This is particularly the case with Investigation Taskforce Sweep (ITFS), with the PNG government initially providing this agency with significant resources and...