Dialogues on Australia's Future: In Honour of Professor Ronald Henderson (1996)

'Those interested in Australia's future cannot afford to ignore this book...'
Peter Groenewegen, Economics and Labour Relations Review, December 1996.

The essays in this most interesting volume address many of the key economic and social issues facing Australia today. The first part includes the rise of the online economy, the apparent dominance of global financial markets over national policy and Australia's links with Asia. In the second part, six policy issues are considered, including the deregulation of wages, the role of technology and industry policy and Australia's environmental commitments. 

The final set of essays address the rise of inequality in Australia, and the role of the quality of life and the national interest in economic policy.

Professor Ronald Henderson sparked the national conscience with his seminal studies of poverty in Australia, and exerted a major influence on policy developments in areas ranging from Medibank and the delivery of social services to the regulation of companies and the Prices and Incomes Accord.

Edited by Peter Sheehan, Bhajan Grewal and Margarita Kumnick
Published 1996 Hardback A$49.95 plus $4 postage ISBN 1 875338 62 4
Paperback A$24.95 plus $4 postage ISBN 1 875338 59 4 
To order this publication download and print the order form and post or fax with your payment to CSES.

Table of contents

PART 1: THE CONTEXT

Australia and the Convergence of Information Technologies

The Online Economy,  Roger Buckeridge
The Challenge of Telecommunications after 1997, Alan Horsley

APEC and the Lessons of Asian Growth

Australia, Asia and Trade Policy: Lessons and Implications, Richard Pomfret
APEC, Asian Growth and Australia's Future, Peter Sheehan

Financial Markets and the Policy Role of Governments

Financial Markets and Failed Economic Policies, Russel Mathews
Financial Markets and Policy: Some Topical Issues, Chris Caton

PART 2: STRATEGIES AND POLICIES

The Wage System: Should it be Further Deregulated?

Wage Deregulation, Low Paid Workers and Full Employment, Bob Gregory
A More Effective Labour Exchange System, John Freebairn

Saving, Investment and Superannuation

Saving and Australia's Future, Vince Fitzgerald
National Savings and Investment Policy: A Syllabus of Errors, John Quiggan
Infrastructure for National Development: In Defence of Public Investment, Bhajan Grewal

Policies for Industrial Growth

Australian Industrial Policies in an Open World, Bob Hawkins
Refashioning Industry Policies: Let's Use What We Know! Jane Marceau

The Challenge of Technology and Innovation

Technology and Innovation: Strategy, Learning and Trust, Mark Dodgson
The New Drivers of Innovation in the Knowledge Economy, Ron Johnston

Meeting Australia's Environmental Commitments

An Environmental Management Reform Agenda: Seeing the Forest for the Trees, Tor Hundloe
Australia's Environment Policy: The Ends and the Means   Graham Armstrong

PART 3: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY

Regional Inequality

Inequality in Australia: Regional and Individual Dimensions, Ann Harding
Increasing Regional Inequality and the Decline of Manufacturing, Bob Gregory and Boyd Hunter

Poverty in Australia in the 1990s: Causes and Responses

Poverty in the 1990s: A Challenge to Work and Welfare, Peter Saunders
The New Poverty: Causes and Responses, Ian Manning and Alice de Jonge

Quality of Life and the National Interest: The Role of Economics

The Quality of Life and Economic Performance, Fred Gruen
Economic and the National Interest, Peter Sheehan