Most urban households face severe restrictions on their use of water. These impose hidden costs that could amount to billions of dollars each year. Australia’s urban water shortages are only partly due to low rainfall. An important contributor has been inadequate institutional arrangements for...

This report provides information on the financial performance of 85 Australian, State and Territory Government trading enterprises (GTEs) and also examines the influence of different asset valuation methods and rate of return measures on performance comparisons and capital management (2004-05 to...

The Productivity commission research paper, ‘The Role of Non-Traditional Work in the Australian Labour Market’ was released on 25 May 2006. There is continuing debate in Australia about the effects of labour market changes on the wellbeing of workers and their families. One such change has...

The Productivity Commission has released its update on the financial performance of 85 Australian, State and Territory Government trading enterprises (GTEs) in July 2006. The report also examines the capital structures of GTEs and capital withdrawal by State and Territory governments. The 85...

This research paper examines some of the key trends in Australia’s agriculture sector over the last 20 years or so. While continuing to grow in absolute terms, the size and importance of agriculture has declined relative to the rest of the economy. Within the sector, there have been marked...

The Productivity Commission released an update on the financial performance of 83 Australian, State and Territory Government trading enterprises in July 2005. The study provides data on their financial performance over time and includes comparisons of performance among GTEs in the same industry....

This report is the latest scorecard on the financial performance of 86 government trading enterprises (GTEs). The report examines the impact on capital management of inadequate compensation for community service obligations and of the persistent poor performance of some GTEs. The 86 GTEs...

The Australian community places significant importance on older people having access to high quality and cost effective aged care services. This is reflected in current institutional and regulatory arrangements, which give considerable weight to achieving equity of access and a minimum...

This research paper which investigated the potential economic and revenue impacts of a National Reform Agenda (NRA) found that the NRA has the potential to significantly raise national output and incomes in Australia. The main purpose of the study was to help governments better understand the...

This inquiry report was released on 27 May 2010. The Australian anti-dumping system, which is based on agreed WTO rules and procedures, benefits a small number of import competing firms, but imposes greater costs on the rest of the economy. <p>However, this net economic cost is likely to be very...</p>