This paper examines the fiscal implications of a significant rise in Australian labour force participation or labour productivity growth over the next forty years, relative to the projections in the Australian Government’s 2002-03 Intergenerational Report (IGR). The alternative, higher, labour...

A number of concepts of 'competitiveness' are applied to national economies, not always clearly or helpfully. This paper suggests a possible taxonomy of these concepts, and applies them to Australian data. Australia performs well on the internal competitiveness of its markets. It also does well...

This note examines trends in labour force participation for people with different levels of educational attainment. The note offers insights into the labour market behaviour of people with different skill attributes and discusses the possible implications of a more highly educated workforce....

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a cooperative institution established to meet the common objectives of international financial stability and economic growth. The IMF's legitimacy and effectiveness in fulfilling these objectives depends critically on its ability to adequately represent...

This paper examines how distance and economic size influence the level of international trade. Parameters for an international gravity trade model are estimated and used to calculate annual expected aggregate trade for Australia over the last 20 years. This model also includes a new indicator of...

The paper reviews the role of the IMF since its inception in 1944 and discusses some of the challenges for the IMF, and the international community more broadly, arising from recent developments in the world economy. It proposes that the IMF's role up to the end of the 1970s evolved in a broadly...

This paper examines the evolution of Australian fiscal policy and the fiscal policy framework over the past quarter century. Following the early 1980s recession, a sustained fiscal consolidation saw the general government budget balance (for all levels of government) move from a deficit of 3 1/2...

Over the past decade, East Asia has developed a range of forums and institutions for regional policy cooperation. One idea that has been, and continues to be, discussed is a possible Asian Monetary Fund (AMF). This paper looks at some issues about the design of an AMF. It does not argue the...

This paper examines the output implications of a significant rise in Australian labour force participation over the next forty years. Using the projections in the Commonwealth Government’s 2002-03 Intergenerational Report as a benchmark, it generates alternative projections assuming that, for...

Productivity is the key driver of economic growth and prosperity over the long run. It is possible to think of Australia's productivity growth as consisting of two elements: Australia's productivity catching up to its steady state level relative to the global technological frontier; and an...