The report follows a New Zealand study tour of 42 business and civic leaders in the Netherlands. The report distils the most transferable lessons from the visit. Both countries are small, export-reliant democracies. It shows how the Netherlands has turned its small size into strength through practical thinking and steady delivery.

Government policy often supports small businesses through lower taxes, lighter labour regulation and grants. Yet this paper finds it is actually young firms that play the most outsized role in economic dynamism in Australia. Using firm-level microdata, the paper draws out this important distinction between firm size and age in firms’ economic contribution, highlighting three...

The Scottish Government has set out an ambitious vision for an economy that is ‘fair, green and growing’ and has committed to delivering a just transition to net zero by 2045. This paper assesses the existing approach to economic strategy and policy and outlines a strategy for transforming its tools, institutions and capabilities around an...

Conventional productivity measurement frameworks increasingly fall short in recognising emergent drivers of productivity. This paper puts forward an enhanced productivity measurement framework incorporating extra inputs that are both distinct and essential to current and future productivity growth – information and data, care and human services, and artificial intelligence.

This paper outlines how a charter to overhaul Australia’s regulatory system would boost Australia's productivity levels. The paper sets out a blueprint for a Charter of Regulatory Effectiveness (CORE) – a proposed legislative instrument for Commonwealth, state and territory governments. Beyond regulatory reform, the paper makes a series of complementary proposals for enhanced productivity in...