In this paper we discuss and critique the theory (and lack thereof) on inequality in economics. We suggest that the discipline is uncomfortable on the whole with analysing the phenomenon and that those theorists who have asked how inequality arises and what its economic consequences are do so...

We introduce a theory of return-seeking firms to study the differences between this and standard profit-maximising models. In a competitive market return-maximising firms minimise average total costs leading to output choices independent of price movements. We investigate the potential for...

Kapeller et al. [2012] argue that consumer choice in the presence of multiple- attribute products is structurally equivalent to the social choice problem to which Arrow's famed impossibility theorem applies and that therefore rational consumer choice is impossible. While I do not deny rational...

In standard models of rational choice it is typically taken for granted that preferences are given and defined over the alternatives alone, and the possibility of making a rational choice is simply a matter of assumption. In this paper I generalise this aspect of the economic model so that...

Multi-factor productivity growth is widely discussed in the media and among policymakers in Australia. Over the past decade it has been predominantly negative often leading to the view that there is a ‘productivity crisis.’ It is shown that such a measure is wholly misleading....

The purpose of this article is to understand the drivers of Australian economic growth since its Federation in 1901. Australia is an interesting case study given that it seems not to have been affected by the ‘natural resource curse’ like many other natural resource dependent...

It is argued that the fact that economic systems are dissipative structures must be taken fully into account in economics if we are to understand the nature of the economic-ecological interface and how to deal with emergent environmental problems, such as global warming. Such problems are a...

In this paper, we present three nonparametric trispectrum tests that can establish whether the spectral decomposition of kurtosis of high frequency financial asset price time series is consistent with the assumptions of Gaussianity, linearity and time reversiblility. The detection of nonlinear...

A basic tenet of ecological economics is that economic growth and development are ultimately constrained by environmental carrying capacities. It is from this basis that notions of a sustainable economy and of sustainable economic development emerge to undergird the ‘standard model’ of...

The debate on electricity networks privatization in the Australian National Electricity Market is an important public policy concern but remains unsettled. This article reviews and compares the economic performance between the privately and state-owned electricity networks in Australia across...