Search

Purpose: With their former role as "cash cows" under threat owing to COVID-19, Australian business schools are fighting not only to maintain their status but also their survival. This study aims to look at how the sector might best approach these challenges. Design/methodology/approach: The study reviews the recent literature on business and management education in Australia and compares that with emerging trends and policy directions. Findings: This analysis of current and emerging trends suggests that business education needs to find alternative arguments for legitimacy, and that business schools in public universities can no longer be regarded automatically as the "keepers of knowledge". Research limitations/implications: The study contends that public resources would be better channelled towards fit-for-purpose business and management education, with this being administered by an array of entities, some of which would include private providers, public--private partnerships or public entities other than "business schools". Practical implications: The study articulates the current and emerging challenges faced by decision and policy makers in the field of public business education and contends that the largely homogeneous business education provided by public universities in Australia is not always in the public interest. Social implications: The value of business education provided by public institutions is becoming increasingly contested, with many stakeholders, including employers, questioning the utility of contemporary business education. Originality/value: Previous studies have looked at the aspects of the future of business and management education, but no overview has hitherto synthesised the findings of such studies and drawn out the practical implications.

COVID-19 has significantly impacted Australia's attractiveness as an international study destination and affected public university budgets, which have increasingly relied on attracting international students through business education. The notion of business schools as an onshore export business has long been a constraint to business schools' claims of public legitimacy. COVID-19 has effectively removed the 'cash cow' status, meaning business schools must turn to other sources of support and legitimacy to secure their future. A Delphi of expert panel members was conducted to determine how this and other key drivers of change will impact business education in Australia over the next 10 years. It is clear from the findings that public business education is now irrevocably changed and that, without dramatic shifts in policy and strategy, it will confront even more significant challenges to its legitimacy into the future.

Purpose: To identify key factors that are contributing to vulnerability in business schools in Australian public universities and determine the degree of vulnerability exhibited by these schools. Design/methodology/approach: Using a multi-criteria assessment (MCA) approach, a framework is developed to determine which business schools are most vulnerable to disruptions and uncertainty. Findings: The findings show a lack of preparedness on the part of many business schools, particularly those relying heavily on international students. Practical implications: The implication is that business schools in Australian public universities need to diversify revenue streams and continue to seek legitimacy through external stakeholders such as employers and international accrediting bodies. Originality/value: This study presents an empirical perspective of business schools in Australian public universities and offers valuable insights for university leaders and policymakers.

This study examines the types of public value that Thai public business schools aim to realise. The study draws on publicly available data relating to the mission statements of these schools and follows a recognised research approach for analysing data from mission statements. It also compared these results to those found in Thai private universities, as well as in Australian universities, where a similar study has recently been undertaken. Our results indicate that there are currently four distinct types of public business schools in Thailand based on their public value propositions: Society‐oriented Schools, Graduate‐producing Schools, Socially‐responsible Leadership Schools, and Internationally‐oriented Schools. While the first two concentrate on creating value for Thai society and businesses, the latter two concentrate on more holistic outcomes, have less of a Thailand‐centric focus, and are more likely to be members of international accreditation bodies. An analysis of the private schools provided broadly similar outcomes, likely because both public and private universities are subjected to the same political and cultural expectations. In an increasingly competitive business education market, some Thai public business schools may shift from simply supplying graduates to Thai businesses to embracing more globally relevant public value propositions, especially if they wish to pursue international accreditation. A greater emphasis on engagement and working with professional bodies will also likely be essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Population growth exerts an impact on both sides of the local government accounting ledger—expenditure and revenue. Despite this fact, the vast scholarly literature on local government finance has been myopically focussed on expenditure functions. This apparent neglect to also consider the revenue side of the ledger is problematic because many regulators across the globe have exhorted local governments to pursue growth according to the assumption that it will promote fiscal health. In this article, we first set out a number of propositions that combine to cast some doubt on the common wisdom dispensed by local government policy‐makers. Following this, we empirically explore the effects of population growth on revenue by making recourse to a comprehensive 10‐year panel of revenue and population data. We conclude our work with some important public policy recommendations arising from the need to mitigate the prima facie surprising results that we obtain. Points for practitioners: Public policy architects have exhorted local governments to pursue population growth as a way to mitigate financial sustainability problems. However, this advice has been based on assumptions only and not subjected to empirical investigation.Econometric estimations demonstrate a negative association between unit revenue and population growth which means that the policy advice is likely to exacerbate financial distress.A number of changes could be made to local government taxation, pricing, and grants that would mitigate the deleterious effects of population growth on financial sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss the drivers behind the rise and fall of the Australian Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) and to assess its future. Design/methodology/approach: Data covering the period 1993-2013 was sourced from the Commonwealth Department of Education and Training to provide a comprehensive analysis of the rise and fall of the Australian DBA. Findings: In Australia, the DBA was introduced in 1993. In the first 11 years of the programme, enrolments increased from only nine candidates in 1993 to 1,505 candidates in 2004. However, by 2013, the number of candidates had fallen to 869 candidates. The authors argue that the principal rationale for the dramatic fall in enrolments points to the challenges and issues of managing overseas candidates by second tier and regional universities rather than a decline in the market "per se". Practical implications: The challenge for universities is to determine whether they can or are able to offer the DBA under a quality framework that requires academic rigour equal to the PhD. Originality/value: This paper presents--for the first time--the most comprehensive description of trends in the Australian DBA programme from its inception to the present day. It also offers valuable insights and cautionary lessons for other countries thinking of introducing or expanding their current DBA programmes.

To authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4932.2009.00566.x Byline: MICHAEL KORTT (1), ANDREW LEIGH (2) Keywords: I10; J31; J71 Abstract: We estimate the relationship between hourly wages and two aspects of body size: height and body mass index (BMI). We observe a height premium, with an additional 10 cm of height being associated with a 3 per cent increase in hourly wages for men. However, workers with higher BMI scores do not seem to earn lower wages. These results are largely unaffected by controlling for physical health, or (in the case of BMI) instrumenting with the BMI of biological family members. A survey of previous instrumental variables studies shows little indication of systematic biases, suggesting that OLS may provide a reasonable estimate of the causal impact of BMI on wages. Author Affiliation: (1)School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia (2)Economics Program, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University, Australia Article note: Andrew Leigh, Economics Program, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University. Email: andrew.leigh@anu.edu.au

Objective: To derive correction equations based on nationally representative data, for the error associated with self-reported height and weight and to apply these to recent estimates of overweight and obesity in the Australian adult population. Methods: Linear regression was used to derive correction equations to predict reporting error on height, weight and body mass index (BMI) for 8,435 adults, aged 20 and over, who had their height and weight accurately measured as participants of the 1995 National Nutrition Survey (NNS) and who had also supplied self-reported information within the 1995 National Health Survey (NHS). Results: Evaluation of different correction algorithms suggests that simple correction equations for height and weight (each with one independent variable) are the most useful in the prediction of corrected prevalence of overweight and obesity. Applying these equations to nationally representative data suggests that the prevalence of overweight and obesity (BMI>=25) in Australia in 2004/05 was 66% compared with the value of 54% determined from self-reported data. Conclusion: We present a simple and reliable method for correcting true prevalence of overweight and obesity from self-reported data. Implications: In order to get realistic estimates of overweight and obesity in Australia, either measured height and weight data should be collected directly, or equations to correct for self report error should be used. Key words: self-report, correction equations, obesity, overweight, Australia

A broad consensus exists that Australian economic activity is too heavily concentrated in capital cities, and regional employment creation should be encouraged. Given the magnitude of international migration to Australia, it is important to determine the impact of migration on regional development by investigating business ownership and job creation by international migrants in regional areas. This paper examines the probability that regional migrant business owners are employers – and thereby employment generators – using a multivariate logit model. We find that migrant business owners with staff are more likely to be male, married and live in regional NSW, metropolitan Victoria and regional and metropolitan Queensland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]