The Australian Government asked the Productivity Commission to undertake a study on the ‘effective’ carbon prices that result from emissions and energy reduction policies in Australia and other key economies (the UK, USA, Germany, New Zealand, China, India, Japan and South Korea).<p> The...</p>

This Productivity Commission inquiry report was released on 12 October 2012. Default superannuation arrangements for those employees who derive their default superannuation product in accordance with modern awards have provided market stability, and net returns of default funds have generally...

There are almost 140 000 retail businesses in Australia, accounting for 4.1 per cent of GDP and 10.7 per cent of employment. Both current trading conditions and longer term trends are challenging. Retail sales growth has trended down over the past half-decade as consumers save more of their...

This staff working paper (by Savvas, Boulton, and Jepson) examines factors that potentially influence Indigenous labour market outcomes (LMOs). It uses regression analysis, and builds on the simple model that was presented in the ‘Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage: Key Indicators (OID)...

This staff working paper examines productivity trends in the Australian utilities industry and highlights some significant issues relating to the measurement and interpretation of changes in measured productivity over time. Multifactor productivity (MFP) growth in Australia's market sector has...

The Australian Government now has institutions and arrangements in place to identify areas of regulation that are unduly burdensome or ineffective and to develop appropriate reforms. However, the Productivity Commission research report, released 15 December 2011, indicated there was a need to...

The Productivity Commission’s third phase of the Education and Training Workforce study examined the workforce of the schools sector, this research report – Schools Workforce – was released on 4 May 2012. A well-performing school system is fundamental to building Australia’s ‘human...

The research report, Battery Eggs Sale and Production in the ACT, was released in November 1998. The report contains the findings of the Productivity Commission's commissioned study. The report examines the effectiveness of the ACT legislation banning of the production, sale of battery eggs and...

Geographical isolation and sound quarantine procedures have protected Australia's agricultural industries from major animal diseases such as Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD). However, the Commonwealth Government as part of its planning and preparedness for a possible FMD outbreak asked the...

In August 2002, the Commission was asked to look at the economic and social importance of the different industries in the Great Barrier Reef and its catchment. The Commission also would evaluate the costs and benefits of actions to address declining water quality which currently threatens the...