The Australian tax-transfer system targets those in need and, as a consequence, is prone to poverty traps, where higher private income leads to very little gain in disposable income. This paper examines available evidence on this problem, and looks at both incremental and radical solutions. These traps can severely impact on people’s ability to work...

What are green jobs? What policies can create green jobs? And is the term ‘green jobs’ meaningful in itself or is it just a politically attractive phrase? This paper seeks to answer these questions.

This paper presents the first data collected on one particular measure, namely access to primary health care.

Banks were portrayed as the villains of the global financial crisis; many of the big international banks and their executives were associated with greed and excessive risk-taking. Regulators were obliged to step in with unprecedented rescue packages to save the financial systems in the US, the UK and, to a lesser extent, the major European...

The final report from the Productivity Commission into executive remuneration does not recommend any far-reaching changes that will address the excessiveness of executive pay in Australia. However, various policy options are available to rein in executive pay, including: removing the tax concession on capital gains; increasing the top marginal rate of income tax; and, establishing...