This working paper provides a systematic assessment of Beyond-GDP indicators between 1972 and 2023, examining whether the frameworks adequately capture social services. The findings establish that Beyond-GDP measurement inadequately captures dimensions central to welfare state investment, providing an evidence base for developing more comprehensive social service evaluation frameworks.

This research provides a critical analysis of the Australian private rental vacancy rate (RVR) – an important housing market signal. It investigates the different methodologies, strengths and limitations of the measure, and how it is used and interpreted. This research presents a detailed examination of RVR to better inform decision-making in public and private sectors.

Sole parent families, primarily headed by women, experience considerable social and economic disadvantage. Despite this, there is limited research that shows the specifics of this disadvantage. This research fills this gap through a detailed examination of several indicators measuring social and economic wellbeing for sole parents for the last 25 to 30 years in Australia.

Australian manufacturing has undergone significant transformation over the past few decades. This report on manufacturing explores the industry’s unique strengths and challenges with analysis of key performance factors such as economic and demand conditions, cost pressures, trade exposure, workforce needs and investment. It identifies key performance factors for 2024 and outlook themes for 2025.

The Australian economy is unusual, in both what it produces and its policy settings. Policymakers cannot borrow blindly from overseas. Researchers need to do their part by providing careful analysis of Australian circumstances. In that vein, this report sketches five unusual features of Australia’s economic structure.