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Prime Minister Julia Gillard released the 'Australia in the Asian Century' White Paper in October 2012, describing it as 'a roadmap showing how Australia can be a winner in the Asian Century'. This article provides a review of Australia's progress on engagement with Asia 2 years after the White Paper. It covers the political and performance status of key Asia- related initiatives following the election of the Abbott government. It finds a high level of continuity and support for individual policies and objectives in the White Paper. However, there have been some significant changes in policy, emphasis and approach and emerging areas of underperformance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perceived threats to sovereignty stemming from trade exposure to China have led to calls for the Australian government to embrace the concept of 'trusted trade'. This involves using policy levers to drive trade towards markets that have capitals more geopolitically aligned with Canberra and finds practical expression in forms such as 'friend-shored' supply chains. A theme of 'trusted trade' advocacy is the conscription of existing security-oriented partnerships, including the ANZUS alliance, the Quad grouping and the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing arrangement, to take on economic dimensions. While holding superficial appeal, this paper details why pursuing this policy path would be to learn the wrong lessons from Beijing's campaign of trade disruption that began in May 2020, and make Australia both poorer and less secure. Three key data points are highlighted that collectively support an assessment that the Australian government's traditional trade policy approach, emphasising open regionalism, remains overwhelmingly fit for purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies a dynamic game of environmental taxes between two countries in the absence of explicit trade policies when both governments and firms act strategically. We demonstrate that the environmental tax in the steady-state equilibrium in a dynamic environmental tax game is lower than that in a static environmental one. Therefore, the dynamic behaviour of the governments results in an increase in the environmental damage. Further, as a result of international cooperation on environmental taxes between two countries in the beginning of policy competition, there is an increase in the optimal environmental tax. This implies that it is important to set cooperative environmental taxes in the beginning of policy competition because non-cooperative environmental taxes in the dynamic game result in the race-to-the-bottom, which does not lead to environmental improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The WTO Trade Policy Review Body met virtually on 11 and 13 March 2020 to review Australia's trade policies. The meeting took place as Australia was completing three decades of uninterrupted economic growth and as the run was being ended by COVID‐19 and associated lockdowns. This paper provides a commentary on the Review. It begins by examining the evolution of Australia's trade policies, with emphasis on the period covered by the TPR, 2015‐19. The second section evaluates the discussion at the TPR meeting, when WTO members raised questions about the policies described in the Review and the Australian delegation responded. The third section considers developments in the year after the meeting. The paper concludes that, despite its stellar economic performance in the three decades before COVID and strong record on trade liberalisation within and beyond the WTO, Australia faces a difficult post‐COVID policy environment. The final section focuses on two challenges: rapidly deteriorating relations with China, Australia's largest trade partner, and the impact of climate change policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies are assessing the impact of news‐based policy uncertainty measure on trade flows between countries. In this paper we add to this new literature by investigating the symmetric and asymmetric effects of Australian policy uncertainty index and the U.S. index on trade flows of 63 two‐digit industries that trade between the two countries. When we estimated a symmetric and linear model for each industry, we found short‐run effects of both uncertainty measures on 30% of the industries' trade flows. However, this number increased to 70% when an asymmetric and nonlinear model was estimated. The long‐run effects of both policy uncertainty followed similar pattern. Less than 10% of trade was affected by the estimates of the linear models. However, estimates of the nonlinear models predicted that 41.20% (26.53%) of the U.S. exports to Australia was affected by the U.S. uncertainty (Australian uncertainty). As for the Australian exports to the United States, 6.72% (5.5%) of its exports were affected by the changes in the U.S. policy uncertainty (Australian uncertainty). In almost all industries, increased uncertainty was found to hurt the trade and decreased uncertainty was found to boost it at different rate or asymmetrically. In sum, the U.S. and Australian policy uncertainty measure affects U.S. exports to Australia much more than they affect Australian exports to the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since June 18, 2018, the European Union (EU) and Australia have been negotiating an ambitious and comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA). This paper examines how geographical indications (GIs) are likely to fare in those negotiations, given that Australia and the EU have historically clashed over agricultural policy in international trade and have opposing legal approaches to protecting GIs, apart from wines. Specifically, this paper is concerned with the main challenges facing the EU and Australia on GI‐related matters, as well as the main areas of convergence between both Parties. It begins with an outline of the EU and Australia's current GI legislative frameworks, before exploring both Party's respective interests for including them in the intellectual property chapter of the FTA. Then, it identifies and analyses the main challenges confronting the GI discussions and concludes by determining the main potential points of convergence. This paper is relevant to understand the current relationship between the EU and Australia on GIs, the relative stakes for concluding ambitious GI provisions in the FTA, and the retrospective comparison of GI reform after this agreement has been implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Offshore detention and bilateral free trade constitute hallmarks of Australia's international policy. This paper explores how these policy directions were originally justified in the Pacific Solution and the Australia‐US Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA). In the literature both policies are theorised as security offerings but whilst the Pacific Solution is obviously exclusionary, AUSFTA aimed at including Australia in the US's orbit. This suggests that security as a justification for policy is flexible, complex, and warrants closer observation of its practical articulations. Reviewing the speeches with which the relevant Ministers introduced their legislation, I argue that offshore detention and bilateral free trade derive from a specific language of security in which policy‐makers view individual actors as the basis of national threats. The language of security invokes a threatening international environment by focussing on the selfish and amoral components of human behaviour whilst diminishing social institutions and collective structures. Vague anarchy and simplified individualism position the state as a righteous protector rather than a rational policy‐maker. I conclude by questioning whether this is a sound basis for policy and canvass options for escaping the language of security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the late 1990s, many developed states and customs territories have been seeking out preferential trade deals. This article examines this trend, which has been especially evident in the Asia-Pacific, and focuses specifically on Australia as a leading exponent of preferentialism in the region. The article has two distinct aims. First, to shed light on the thinking behind Australia's foreign economic policy and, specifically, to examine the motivations for moving away from multilateral and non-discriminatory means of advancing its free trade agenda in the region. Second, it aims to examine the developing dynamics of regional economic co-operation in the Asia-Pacific given the stasis of existing institutional efforts. This paper begins with a brief examination of the regional context and Australia's approach to trade policy. It then considers the nature of Australia's preferential bilateralism and its aims and motivations. The article shows that Australian policy-makers believe that preferential agreements can provide trade creation through market access, as well as broader benefits which derive from market expansion. Australia is motivated to pursue preferentialism by concern about existing institutions, by the technical appeal of bilateral agreements, and by the broader trend toward preferentialism in the international system, as well as shifts in its own domestic politics. The paper concludes with a short examination of the character of regionalism in the Asia-Pacific in the light of burgeoning regional bilateralism. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article examines Australia's contentious 2011 Trade Policy Statement in which the Federal Government indicated that it will no longer provide for investor state arbitration (ISA) in future bilateral and regional trade agreements (brtas), choosing instead to rely on alternatives to is A. These are likely to vary from encouraging investor-state parties to negotiate contracts that provide mechanisms for dispute resolution to providing by treaty that domestic courts resolve such disputes. Not with standing a change in Australia's Federal Government in 2013, two years after the Policy Statement was announced, the new Liberal Government has retreated from that Policy notably by including isa in the Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement (kafta) concluded on 5 December 2013. However, it has not rejected the Policy, but has indicated instead that it will consider ISA in its treaties on a case-by-case basis. As a result, the Policy could still have significant ramifications for Australia in negotiating brtas; it could have a material impact on Australia's inbound and outbound investors, as well as upon other states and investors directly or indirectly impacted by Australia's Policy. It is also conceivable that other states will follow Australia's initiative and reconsider whether to agree to isa in their brtas. In analysing the policy shift against ISA, the paper evaluates the nature of foreign direct investment (FDI) and its economic and legal significance to host and home states, as well as to inbound and outbound foreign investors. Following this analysis, the paper outlines the rationale behind Australia's rejection of ISA in 2011. It evaluates the perceived advantages and disadvantages of alternatives to ISA, such as diplomatic intervention in investor-state disputes and conciliation proceedings between investor-state parties. However, it focuses on the most likely alternative to ISA, namely, reliance on domestic courts to resolve investment disputes. The paper argues against the complete rejection of ISA. It illustrates the challenges of Australia relying on domestic courts to resolve investor-state disputes in light of the impending Investment Chapter of the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) and the preservation of Australia's investment interests in Asia. As an alternative, the article proposes the adoption of a BIT policy which would provide investor-state parties with a choice among dispute avoiding measures, including access to either domestic courts or isa. The rationale is that such an approach is likely to preserve the national interests of Australia, while also gaining support within the international community of states and among foreign investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines the increasing salience of drug “innovation” in the debate for reform of Australia's pharmaceutical policy, particularly change to Australia's price control mechanisms. The pharmaceutical industry has consistently criticised the central role of price control in Australia's pharmaceutical regulatory regime as an impediment to drug innovation and industry growth. Despite ambivalent or contrary evidence on the impact of price control on drug innovation, this criticism, and the appeals for reform it supports, appear to be increasingly influential in directing pharmaceutical policy. This is particularly evident in the implementation of the Australia/United States Free Trade Agreement, which has led to a weakening of the historical process of evidence-based reference pricing in Australia. Should drug innovation come to dominate Australian pharmaceutical policy, there is the potential to precipitate a devaluing of the current public orientation of regulation and diminish equitable access to affordable pharmaceuticals. The manner in which trade policy has effectively undermined a publicly funded pharmaceutical benefits scheme has clear implications for many countries that maintain such programmes.Journal of Public Health Policy (2008) 29, 106–120. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jphp.3200170 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 1980s and 1990s, Australia moved from a protectionist trade policy to very open trade policies. This paper analyses the evolution of these policies in the twenty‐first century: first signing bilateral agreements in the 2000s and then participating in negotiation of mega‐regional agreements (TPP/CPTPP and RCEP). To some extent these shifts have reflected stasis in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and its inability to make agreements on new areas. Underlying drivers of Australia's beyond‐WTO trade agreements have been the fragmentation of trade along global value chains and the emergence of new trade technologies associated with the spread of the internet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia's external trade is relatively low compared with the size of its economy. Indeed, Australia's openness ratio (exports plus imports as a proportion of GDP) in 2002 was the third-lowest among the 30 OECD countries. This paper seeks to understand Australia's low openness by analysing the empirical determinants of aggregate country trade. We present an equation for country openness which explains a substantial amount of the cross-country variation. The most important explanators of openness are population and a measure of distance to potential trade partners. Countries with larger populations trade less, as do countries that are relatively more remote. Furthermore, after controlling for trade policy there is little evidence of a positive correlation between openness and economic development. The openness equation suggests that Australia's level of trade is relatively close to what would be expected. The most important factors in explaining Australia's low openness ratio are its large geographic size and distance to the rest of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The establishment of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) has become an integral part of Australia's current trade policy. Australia has signed FTAs with Singapore, Thailand and the US. Possibilities for similar agreements with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, and Japan are being explored. This paper examines the effects of FTAs on the Australian economy and on the trading partners, drawing lessons from simulations of a number of free trade agreements. The simulations are undertaken using the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) model. By simulating the GTAP multi-country computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, the paper provides quantitative evidence concerning the welfare impact of FTAs with special reference to trade creation and trade diversion. Examining responses of various production sectors identifies the structural changes that may take place in the economy over the long run. The findings may shed light on the debate over the potential incentives to participate in multilateral trade liberalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New generation trade agreements reach far behind borders, affecting many areas of domestic policy not previously associated closely with trade. One of the most uneasy of these areas is intellectual property, particularly patent monopolies. The USA has been a major force behind the extended reach of patent monopolies using preferential trade agreements. The patent and data exclusivity provisions of the AUSFTA were proposed by the USA. This paper provides detailed evidence about how such ‘TRIPS+’ policies compare to a balanced patent policy—one equally favouring creators and users of technology. Australia has never had an active patent agenda, but since AUSFTA has been willing to accept in its bilateral and regional trade deals highly prescriptive rules that tie the hands of future governments. The overall trend has thus been toward increasing imbalance, with Australian patent policy now having a very broad reach and very low eligibility standards. This particularly affects the cost of medicines, where large numbers of relatively uninventive patents surround a blockbuster drug and delay the market entry of generic alternatives. In addition to outlining the costs of Australia’s current patent policy approach, the paper concludes by highlighting a more balanced and less costly way forward. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Introduction and Aims Since 2010, members of the World Trade Organization ( WTO), including Australia, have opposed Thailand's proposal for graphic warnings on alcohol containers. This paper aims to provide an account of the arguments for/against Thailand and to examine the arguments' legal and political validity. Design and Methods This paper reviews primary WTO records in relation to Thailand's proposal to reveal the arguments for/against Thailand's proposal. The paper analyses these arguments in light of WTO cases to identify the legal strengths and weaknesses of Thailand's position. The paper then considers whether the attacks on Thailand by Australia are justified in light of the Australian Government's position on (i) alcohol warning labels in Australia and (ii) tobacco plain packaging. Results The legal arguments against Thailand are: only harmful alcohol consumption should be prevented; there is no evidence that graphic warning labels can reduce alcohol-related harm; the labels unnecessarily restrict international trade. There are some legal weaknesses in Thailand's proposal. Yet, Australia's opposition to Thailand cannot be justified whilst Australia is (i) mandating pregnancy-related alcohol warnings in Australia and (ii) defending its plain packaging law against similar WTO attacks. Discussion No WTO member is obliged to challenge another member for being non-compliant. The case tests the willingness of WTO members like Australia to respect the autonomy of other countries to pursue their public health goals and trial novel interventions. Conclusions Australia's actions suggest it is willing to protect its alcohol industry at the expense of public health in Thailand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The launch of negotiations for an Australia-China free trade agreement (ACFTA) started on 18 April 2005, following completion of the joint feasibility study that showed substantial economic and trade benefits for the two countries. The paper reassesses these benefits by means of an empirical analysis with a view to providing improved inputs for informed debate on the benefits and costs of an ACFTA from the perspective of Australia and China. The implications of the findings for policy uses are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A literature review regarding the consequences of trade liberalization on trade flows, productivity and internal demand has led us to consider a simple operational model of how to measure these consequences. This model is applied to the passenger motor vehicle (PMV) industry in Australia. There is clear evidence that this liberalization has increased the volume of trade and productivity, but reduced the locally produced cars for internal consumption. In addition, there are significant estimated lags concerning the reaction of these variables as a consequence of trade liberalization. Econometrically, this paper is an application of the bounds-testing procedure based on the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach to cointegration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the dynamics of international financial integration for a set of 13 industrial countries including Australia over the period 1990 to 2003 by analysing data on the level and composition of foreign assets and liabilities. The study provides insights into the broad trends on cross-country holdings and investigates the correlation of international asset positions with various ‘explanatory variables’ such as the degree of financial restrictions, the depth of financial markets, the openness to international trade, etc. The results show that the growth in goods trade and stock market capitalization are the main determinants of the growth in the scale of international balance sheets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the effects of tariff cuts in the intermediate inputs market Traditional trade theories predict that upstream industries would contract and downstream industries would expand. In contrast, new trade theories show that trade liberalisation of the intermediate inputs market may expand both upstream and downstream industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of manufactured exports to Australia's future economic progress has been given increased attention recently. Its significance was expressed in the Green Paper on Policies for Development of Manufacturing Industry, which stated that Australian manufacturing was largely created to serve a growing domestic market by deliberate policies of import substitution, immigration, fixed exchange rates and capital inflow. Now that the domestic market is satiated and can grow only slowly, most manufacturing is stalled and lacks purpose. It needs to export to grow. Subsequent government reports and papers have supported and reinforced this view that manufactured exports should play a more dominant role in the development of the Australian economy. However, there is a frequent lack of knowledge on the part of policy makers in respect of the most appropriate means of export stimulation, as well as the effectiveness of such measures.

This paper is concerned with the complexities of accountability for Australian public enterprise and analyses some of the conceptual issues which need to be addressed in developing a framework for reform. The analysis suggests that the matrix of financial accountability relationships is quite complex in terms of its objectives, its concern for both public interest and commercial viability issues and the number of participants. Furthermore, it operates in an intricate environment of political, administrative and control structures. Although the general financial reporting objectives for public and private enterprises may be similar from a conceptual viewpoint, the assumptions underlying the private sector agency model (a simple one-to-one share- holder-manager relationship based on profit maximisation and individual self-interest) may not allow a realistic or suitable modelling of the intricacies of this process at an operational level at least. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is under way a worldwide greening of industry, driven by the huge demand generated by China and India as emerging industrial giants whose growth cannot be accommodated by ‘business as usual’ fossil-fuelled development—for reasons having as much to do with energy security as concerns over global warming and climate change. While the role played in this process by fiscal and industry policies (e.g. carbon taxes and other market-based incentives) is well understood (even if not pursued currently in Australia), the potentially powerful leverage to be exercised by trade policy is under-recognised. There are some positive developments such as a proposed Environmental Goods Agreement being discussed in Geneva, while there are negative developments embodied in various bilateral and regional trade agreements such as the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, to which Australia has committed itself. There are rising levels of conflict over trade and climate change mitigation measures, in actions brought at the WTO against countries looking to promote green industries through measures like local content requirements being attached to foreign direct investment, or by countries imposing border tax adjustments against exporters who allegedly fail to implement carbon taxes. The issues involved are discussed in this paper and possible ways forward are proposed, along with some implications for Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The recently negotiated Japan Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (JAEPA) is the latest in a series of trade agreements that seek to create a trading environment for Australian firms delivering outcomes similar to those anticipated under the WTO multilateral model. However, the gains to business and the economy from this approach to trade policy have been particular to specific economic sectors and have generally not resulted in significant broad based economic benefits. In particular, the negotiation of trade agreements by Australia has been characterised by the reduction of trade-in-goods barriers (tariffs etc) which have assisted some agricultural and resource activities and compromised value adding, high employment sectors of the economy such as manufacturing. In contrast, Australian trading partners have increasingly sought concessions relating to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), allowing their businesses to vertically integrate productive activity. The apparent disconnection between Australian trade policy outcomes and the requirements of business and the broader economy stem from failures at both the fundamental level of policy creation and the negotiation and implementation of the agreements. This paper argues that Australian trade policy needs to develop a new, more flexible and responsive model of trade negotiation in order to better serve the economy and its businesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses potential sectoral effects of Australia and India signing a free trade agreement. We construct a static applied general equilibrium model, and using a social accounting matrix, we calibrate it to match the Australian data sector by sector. We then perform a numerical experiment of removing all import tariffs between Australia and India. Additionally, we compare this benchmark case with one scenario where the tariffs are partially eliminated, and another scenario with more realistic trade elasticities. We quantify how trade liberalisation leads to falling consumer prices in the import sectors, increased production in the export sectors and aggregate welfare gains. Our analysis indicates a social welfare gain of around 0.4% which is robust to different estimates of trade elasticities, or in the case in which perhaps more realistically reflecting the recent episodes of free trade agreement we partially remove bilateral trade barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Australia's Trade Policy Review by the WTO in 2011 was positive about Australia's openness and its progress in removing residual barriers to trade. But it glosses over the fact that Australia's current strategy of supporting the multilateral system while signing, negotiating and concluding preferential agreements is not consistent. The paper focuses on the question of Australia's role in the multilateral system as it prosecutes preferential agreements, and examines ways of multilateralising some of those preferences, especially in a broader regional setting and under the WTO. One priority is to multilateralise the preferences in trade agreements - by reducing the MFN tariffs and extending the preferential access that some investment and services providers enjoy. Another priority is to get domestic regulations and reforms right so that there is no discrimination between foreign and domestic firms, let alone between foreign firms from different countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than a century elapsed between Australia's first legislative attempts to modify anticompetitive behaviour (the Australian Industries Preservation Act 1906) and its most recent efforts to criminalise price fixing ( Trade Practices Amendment (Cartel Conduct and Other Measures) Act 2009). After a burst of activity in the first decade of Federation, the intervening years saw only sporadic interest by governments to promote competitive markets, with limited impact until the late 1960s. This paper assesses the first period of Australia's attempts to promote competition. It traces the political, economic and social environments of anticompetitive business behaviour in Australia from 1901 up to World War I. We suggest that Australia's initial forays into regulating cartels were motivated more by protectionist aims than by efforts to increase competition, which in part also explains the next half-century of legislative apathy towards anti-competitive legislation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the early establishment in Australia of CGE modeling as a major policy tool. As background, it provides a short history of CGE modeling and describes the impetus to the field from: (a) the failure of less theoretically formal approaches; and (b) the recognition that this type of modeling can handle policy-relevant detail. The paper then argues that the CGE approach flourished in Australia because Australia had the right issue, the right institutions and the right model. The final section looks to the future of CGE modeling and the challenge of demonstrating that it really works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bilateral trade between Australia and China has expanded in recent years. This paper examines the determinants of bilateral trade at the two-digit commodity level using a modified gravity model with explicitly specified revealed comparative advantage incorporated. This methodology allows us to explore how the relative comparative advantage of Australia and China to the world, mirroring their individual pattern of factor endowments, affects the pattern of trade between the two countries and to identify whether there exists a kind of complimentarity international specialisation between the two countries against the backdrop of each country's booming trade with the rest of the world. Key commodities such as agricultural products, iron ore, petroleum, textiles and clothing, and machinery goods are considered to estimate net welfare in terms of added value deriving from bilateral trade. The findings have policy implications for forging future trade and economic cooperation between Australia and China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1901, six Australian states joined together in political and economic union, creating an internal free trade area and adopting a common external tariff. This paper investigates the impact of federation on Australia's internal and international trade flows by studying changes in the ‘border effect’ over this time. This is possible because Australian states reported intra-Australian trade prior to 1901 and for 8 years after federation. The results indicate that federation itself produced little change in Australia's trade patterns, but that the border effect increased substantially between 1906 and 1909 when the protectionist Lyne Tariff was imposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The governments of Australia and China are presently proceeding through a process with the objective of agreeing to a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA). There is little information available on the attitude of the Chinese to the proposal. This paper reports and analyses research findings from business students and senior academics in a Chinese university with a view to identifying some of the qualitative judgements on the FTA issue. Findings of the survey suggest that the Chinese respondents were clearly in favour of foreign trade agreements, foreign investment and new technologies. A limiting factor is the lack of detailed knowledge of Australia. They generally considered that it would be beneficial for Chinese companies to associate with their Australian counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multiproduct spatial equilibrium model of world steel trade is presented in this paper. The model is used to analyse the impacts of the safeguard trade barriers brought about by the USA in order to protect their domestic industry from the so-called unfair competition. Emphasis is placed on the likely effect on the Australian industry and possible policy responses available to the industry. A case study is made of Australia's three largest export products; namely, slab, hot-rolled and cold-rolled steel, which share some substitutability in supply and demand because of the nature of the industry. As a result of the safeguard barriers to steel trade, world steel prices fell and trade shifted away from the USA to other importing regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a survey of aspects of the theory of regional trading agreements and of empirical evidence relating to estimates of country gains and losses. It begins with a survey of the predictions of trade theory relating to the gains and losses to member and to non-member countries of liberalising goods trade preferentially by the formation of a free trade area or a customs union. Section III concerns the empirical evidence from Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) models. In Section IV the authors examine the CGE modelling of the recently-agreed free trade area between Australia and the USA as a case study. Other Sections discuss hub-and-spoke aspects of the evolving network of agreements and their impact on multilateral and unilateral modalities of trade liberalisation. Some general conclusions are drawn about the pattern of agreements and the need for reform of the World Trade Organization rules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes how the 1993-6 Australian Labor government modernized its commitment to full employment by combining labor market programmes and social security reforms to create a Job Compact for the long-term unemployed. It draws out lessons of relevance to the British Labour government which has committed itself to using job guarantees to build new bridges between welfare and work. During the 1980s Labor governments had succeeded in reducing unemployment which reached a low point of 5.7 per cent in 1989. However, in the early 1990s a deep recession saw unemployment increase to 11 per cent, with the number of unemployed people receiving benefit for over a year jumping from 115,380 to 354,174 between 1991 and 1993. The unexpected success of the Labor Party in the 1993 general election owed much to the commitment of the government to tackle unemployment as well as to electoral fears about the tax policies of the opposition. Following his victory the Labor prime minister swiftly appointed a Committee on Employment Opportunities.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the manner in which Australian policy in matters of international trade is set. The author finds a number of puzzling features. First is the lack of detailed scrutiny given to the policy mechanisms employed by the countries of North-East Asia which have recently been so outstandingly successful in furthering their international trade and economic interests. There can be no valid reason for failing to give close attention to the means whereby others have succeeded. Second is the apparent separation in Australia, unlike Japan, between international trade policy and other, broader economic objectives such as the identification and support of new high value industries with global export potential. If we lack national objectives of this latter kind it is legitimate to ask whether this lack is for the best. Third is the extent to which policy appears to assume, without more ado, that through the liberation of market forces we shall largely resolve our international competitive and trade problems. This is a truly heroic assumption which should be clearly recognised for what it is. Fourth and perhaps most puzzling of all is the extraordinarily low level of community debate, even of interest group debate, over precisely where our 1990s international trade and economic development interests lie. If the current GATT round should largely fail, which is quite likely, clear thinking about where our best interests lie will suddenly become urgent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Green Triangle (GT) region of southern Australia is one of only two jurisdictions globally to licence plantation forestry's groundwater use. In response to declines in groundwater resources caused by historical plantation expansion, reductions in forest water allocations (~50%) are likely for some parts of the region, presenting novel challenges for forest managers in maintaining revenues and timber flows. This article presents a mathematical programming model evaluation of water trade opportunities for plantation forest owners to adapt to reduced water entitlements and explores how tightening groundwater policy could affect forestry returns and land use mix for the region. Results suggest that even absent opportunity to sell water, relatively limited 11% reduction in return could be expected for a large (−50%) water entitlement and (−48%) land‐use change out of forestry. Results suggest that opportunities for forestry companies to sell water entitlements may allow them to maintain or even increase combined returns from forestry and water sales. Whilst the results highlight the adaptive capacity of the plantation forestry sector to operate within reduced water entitlement, a significant sectoral and regional economy adjustment would be likely. The discussion focusses on the potential to realise optimisation model‐identified adaptation opportunities accounting for real‐world thin markets, transaction costs and market friction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the 2020 Climate Change Performance Index, Australia was ranked as the worst-performing country on climate change policy. The country has an ambivalent record of climate policy development as well as implementation, and has been criticized for its inaction. This paper considers why the country has been locked in climate policy "paralysis" through analyzing defining attributes of such a paralysis, and the tentative connections between domestic energy policies and international trade and development. We conducted a media content analysis of 222 articles and identified media narratives in three cases of energy projects in the country involving thermal coal exports, domestic renewable energy storage, and closure of a domestic coal power station. The analysis reveals that policy paralysis in Australian climate change policy can be traced back to the countervailing arguments that have been pervasive around domestic energy security, rural employment and international energy poverty. The political establishment has struggled to develop a sustainable consensus on climate change and the citizenry remains polarized. We also discuss how a "focusing event," such as a major natural disaster can break the impasse but this is only possible if energy security at home, energy poverty abroad and employment imperatives across the board are clearly delineated, measured and prioritized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The building project development approval process is increasingly complex and fraught with conflict due to the rise of the sustainable urban development movement and inclusive decision making. Coupled with this, government decision-making decentralization has resulted in a fragmented and over-regulated compliance system. Problems arising from the process include wasted resources, excessive time delays, increased holding and litigation costs, inadequate planning coordination, high levels of advocacy costs and a divisive politicized approval process. In Australia, despite attempts by government and industry associations, numerous problems are still unresolved. Design managers increasingly assume a liaison role during the approval phase. There is a long tradition of planning theory literature which provides context for understanding the knowledge-power-participation relationship for this paper. This study investigated the policy, process and practice conflicts during the approval stage in achieving sustainable urban developments. Three regional local government areas within one state jurisdiction and observations from detailed structured focus group interviews involving 23 stakeholders, proposers and assessors were analysed to explore this conflictual environment. As a result of regulatory fragmentation and excessive consultation, various persuasion tactics have been developed by all stakeholders of which 'reciprocity' and 'authority' were identified as the most common. Two challenges for design managers were thus identified: first, the emergence of the role of a by default central informal arbitrator across conflicting planning instruments; and, second, as a navigator through a set of persuasion tactics. An inclusive knowledge-based design management framework for sustainable urban development is proposed considering Habermas' communicative planning theory, Foucaltian governance and discursive powers thesis and Cialdini's persuasion theory, as well as being grounded in the key empirical results from this study, using various types and sources of knowledge as an authoritative persuasion tactic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public policies that aim to facilitate cultural activities to serve effectively as industries are often regarded as a new phenomenon. This article argues that arts and cultural policies in Australia have reflected and complemented Commonwealth industry policy for most of their history. The significant change that has happened in the past twenty years is not so much a change to cultural policy, but rather a change in the notion of industries and their role in the national economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information about financial literacy. It states that financial literacy aims to educate people about financial market and financial risk as well as to raise awareness on credit and debt for people who overlooked the process of debt payment and budgeting in Australia. It notes that many are doubtful on the potential of financial literacy to protect vulnerable consumers. Also discussed are the establishment of Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the initiatives it enforced in consumer education.

This article provides an analysis of the potential economic effects of the China-Australia free trade agreement, and provides a set of policy recommendations regarding such an agreement. The article begins with a review of China-Australia trade relations, showing the widening gap in the importance of one country relative to the other. Next, the article examines the competitive advantages of China and Australia in trade by way of local revealed comparative advantage (RCA) and finds that trade between China and Australia is predicated on differences in their factor endowments. The study then investigates the main problems in the negotiations for the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement and concludes with a set of policy suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws attention to the lack of focus on multicultural issues in the context of the programming and scheduling practices of the free-to-air commercial broadcasting sector in Australia. In many European nations, `the state's intervention in creative production in the form of subsidies, government infrastructure, and so on is obviously part of a larger conception of the nation in which cultural participation is a manifestation of citizenship' (Uricchio, 2004), yet in Australia there appears to be little interest in the role the media plays in the development and consolidation of a strong and participating citizenry. Rather, we find a mismatching in the `government [policy] infrastructure' that works against the development of a participatory culture capable of fostering strong citizenship by excluding the commercial media from responsibilities other than running at a profit. We argue that we should be working with a better in formed understanding of the media environment and developing a media ecology that promotes diversity at many different levels (rather than only in the public broadcasting) of the media environment, where complex cultural differences of values and beliefs can find a place in public media discourse essential for the development of Australia as a vibrant multicultural community. Yet when it comes to media policy, and the debate turns to the broadcasting responsibilities of commercial television, questions of public responsibility and multicultural diversity evaporate into thin air. We particularly note the conjuncture of two contemporary trends that threaten to dismantle the fragile unity that characterises Australian cultural identity: the commercialisation of cultural production and the rise of peer-to-peer networking. Each of these exerts a fragmenting pressure on the unity of the national media (and cultural) sphere that threatens the stability of Australia as a multinational society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the application of capital controls as a means of minimizing speculation in real exchange rates in Asia. Methods that can be used by foreigners in speculating against a currency; Review of empirical evidence on the impact of capital controls on real exchange rate volatility; Recommended set of capital controls to prevent currency speculation.

This paper utilises a bilateral bargaining approach as an explanatory framework for understanding how New Zealand and Australia have conducted their trade policy towards the United States and the European Union. Though alternatives like neo realism and liberal institutionalism have some value for explaining bilateral outcomes between the strong and the weak, the bilateral bargaining approach takes us further by showing how and why the negotiation process can potentially adjust outcomes in favour of weaker states. New Zealand and Australia have sought to exploit such opportunities through the application of three important bilateral strategies: informing tactics; coalition-building; and the execution of formal agreements. Differences in their bilateral bargaining approaches are informed by reference to their commercial history and respective interests, as well as cognitive factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract--This paper evaluates calculations of net fiscal incidence (NFl), using an applied general equilibrium model of Australia into which public goods are incorporated. Results indicate that it is inappropriate to regard the redistributive impacts of government policies as a zero sum game. For large reductions in public goods provision and taxes, the dominant effect is the foregone consumer surplus from suboptimal public goods provision. In addition, the redistributive pattern of small charges is quite different from large charges. Marginal and average net fiscal incidence thus need to be clearly separated, a point not emphasised in existing literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the possibilities and strategies for human resource management (HRM) in a period of commercialization and corporatization in Australia. It contrasts market and public sector approaches to human resources management and outlines steps which might be taken as organizations change to commercial or corporate structures and practices. It also describes the economic and social goals behind commercialization and corporatization and their links with human resource management. It notes that human resource management strategies should complement and contribute to the improvement of the productive capacity of enterprise.

In the June 1973 issue of this Journal Neville Cain summarised Australian economic thought of the 1920s as it related to the tariff. His interpretation reflected a widespread presumption that the so-called Brigden Report of 1929 employed the 'Australian Case for Protection' as narrowly defined in modern international trade theory. The purpose of this paper is to show that the 1929 Report did not, in fact, employ the 'Australian Case' thus defined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluates the old and the neonationalist interpretations of Australian commercial policy in the 1930s. Influence of a complex structure of pressure groups and political, bureaucratic and regulatory institutions on Australian commercial policy towards Great Britain; Adoption of inflexible positions that limited Australia in its international economic relations.