Mass lay-offs from firms and plant restructuring occur regularly, and can have potentially large consequences on places and communities. This paper estimates the impact of mass lay-offs between 2008-18 across small regions in Europe on regional employment and productivity.

Australia’s public and private sectors are making much-needed investments, as the nation shifts from an energy system powered by coal, oil and gas to one powered by renewables and storage. This report calls on the Albanese Government to support solutions that benefit regional farming communities...

The Regional Banking Taskforce was established to bring banks and other key stakeholders to work together in partnership to share information, assess the impact of regional bank branch closures, and identify possible solutions.  This report outlines the taskforce's recommendations.

This framework is designed to help direct the actions of government, industry and the community towards achieving a greater proportion of Australians living prosperously in the regions by 2032 and beyond. The framework has been developed from a decade of research and with extensive input...

The COVID-19 pandemic has critically tested OECD economies, with major differences in economic repercussions at the subnational level. This paper reviews the empirical evidence for effective policies from across the OECD to strengthen local economic resilience through support for people, firms and places.

This report brings together three separate research projects to examine the capacity of Australia’s smaller cities to assist in managing population growth, including international and national migration. It also provides advice on which policy instruments and programs are most likely to redirect population movements to...

The emerging clean energy economy offers a window of opportunity for Victoria’s Latrobe Valley. The authors of this report argue that capturing this potential requires a targeted and proactive policy approach that leverages the region’s entrenched advantages and lays the bedrock for sustained prosperity.

The objective of the audit was to assess whether the award of funding under the Building Better Regions Fund was effective as well as being consistent with the Commonwealth Grant Rules and Guidelines.

By fixating on a narrow geographic area, policymakers have overlooked the functional diversity and spatial extent of arts and cultural clusters in large metropolitan regions. We call attention to these industrial and geographic oversights in policy by examining the intersection between cultural industries and urban...

This report summarises a multi-stage project undertaken by a team at the University of South Australia for the RAI’s Intergovernmental Shared Inquiry Program in 2021-22.

This paper argues that there have basically been massive continuities rather than a sudden step up in State intervention as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is illustrated by examining one regional city in Australia – Geelong in Victoria – which has successfully moved...

COVID-19 has forced us to reimagine the way we’re working now and into the future. This second instalment in the Future of Work Lab’s 'Regional Migration Survey' series, aims to better understand the current working patterns and future work aspirations of people who have migrated...

The Regional Australia Institute (RAI) believes the creation of a National Regionalisation Framework will draw together common priorities for supporting a stronger regional Australia. This consultation paper kicks off the process for developing the framework. It sets out five themes which the RAI has identified...

This discussion paper highlights the different drivers of housing problems in different parts of regional Australia. These different drivers mean that the responses also need to be tailored to each region if they are to be effective.

This report report looks beyond Australia's fast-growing cities to present the evidence for increased investment in the regions. Infrastructure Australia's focus draws on the knowledge that the nation's economic capability is highest when the potential of Australia's regions are fully realised.

The internal migration of Australians from metro to regional areas has received increasing attention since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This first instalment of the Future of Work Lab’s 'Regional Migration Survey' aims to better understand the migration patterns, motivations and experiences of internal...

To secure enduring prosperity in south-west Queensland, this report argues that the state cannot rely on renewable projects alone—many of the jobs they create are short-term construction jobs, with far fewer long-term stable jobs in maintenance and operations. This report outlines the opportunities that are...

This report from the Centre For Policy Development’s sustainable economy initiative models the impact of global decarbonisation commitments on employment and output at a Local Government Area (LGA) level in Australia.

This report investigates agglomeration economies and their ability to alter the economic productivity of cities, together with an examination of the key drivers of population growth and mobility in Australia.

This paper considers how the agriculture sector can leverage stimulatory regional investment to ensure enduring economic stability and social benefits by establishing a virtuous cycle of beneficial impacts.

This paper argues that the Australian government has a responsibility to ensure the cost of decarbonisation does not fall disproportionately on the shoulders of regional Australians, because when regional Australia does well, all Australians do well.

The aim of this report is to review the current situation of the regional television industry and analyse potential solutions to the challenges it faces. In summary, this report concludes that it is difficult to foresee ongoing viability for the regional commercial television industry on...

This research investigates the potential for Australia’s regional areas to attract and sustain population and economic growth, examining whether particular international strategies and Australian models for supporting development have been effective.

This report looks at what’s happening in the Townsville region, using the Port of Townsville as an example of what’s possible when planning and embarking upon major infrastructure developments. It also examines what others at the regional, state and national levels of government can pursue...

This report finds that regional Australia is undergoing an economic transformation, with historical coal and gas heartlands in pole position to capitalise on the global shift to net zero emissions – with appropriate federal government planning, regulation and investment to manage the eventual decline of...