Volume 19, Issue 1, 1989
Articles:
- Poverty Traps in the Australian Social Security System (P. Whiteford, B. Bradbury, P. Saunders)
- Reductions in Government Spending in the Orani-Naga Framework (B.F. Parsell)
- The European Currency Unit – An Exercise in Successful Exchange Rate Management (D.J. Jüttner)
- Prudential Regulation of Bank Ownership and Control (W.P. Hogan)
- Cost Recovery Arrangements for Interstate Land Transport in Australia: A Review of Recent Policy Initiatives (J.E. Davies)
- Book Reviews
Poverty Traps in the Australian Social Security System
P. Whiteford, B. Bradbury, P. Saunders
Pages: 1-28
Abstract:
The term “poverty traps” refers to circumstances where the income tests in the Australian social security system trap social security recipients into dependence on Government income support. This paper describes the ways in which the income test interacts with the income tax rate scale and Medicare levy to produce high effective marginal tax rates, and provides evidence on the number of persons actually and potentially in the poverty trap. The paper also discusses factors other than income tests that may affect the decisions of social security recipients to engage in part-time work, and canvasses a range of policy options that may alleviate poverty traps for those of working age.
Reductions in Government Spending in the Orani-Naga Framework
B.F. Parsell
Pages: 29-49
Abstract:
In this paper, the ORANI-NAGA model of the Australian economy is used to examine the effects of a reduction in government consumption expenditure under two alternative scenarios. In the first, it is assumed that a 10 per cent reduction in government consumption expenditures is accompanied by an increase in private aggregate demand. In the second, it is assumed that the same 10 per cent reduction in government spending takes place, however private demand is held constant.
One advantage of using the ORANI-NAGA model is that we are able to examine the effects of a budget cut on variables such as the public sector borrowing requirement and industry activity levels, as well as the macroeconomic effects. This study suggests that the predicted effects of a cut in government spending are sensitive to assumptions made concerning how the budget cuts are implemented. In the scenarios considered here, it is found that the change in overall economic activity, as measured by the percentage change in real GDP or employment, is similar in both cases but that there are substantial differences between the two in their sectoral effects, and in their effects on variables such as income tax rates and the public sector borrowing requirement.
Full Text PDF (4.37MB)
The European Currency Unit – An Exercise in Successful Exchange Rate Management
D.J. Jüttner
Pages: 51-72
Abstract:
Europe increasingly strengthens its credentials as a stable currency zone and large trading block. The European Exchange Rates Systems forms an important building block of these developments. The European Currency Unit (ECU) constitutes the core of this system. This paper analyses the construction of the ECU and explains how compulsory and intra-marginal interventions as well as the convergence of national economic policies ensure the continued existence of a grid of fixed bilateral exchange rates amongst the member countries of the European Community. This system of exchange rate management appears to have substantially reduced intra-community exchange rate variability.
Full Text PDF (4.55MB)
Prudential Regulation of Bank Ownership and Control
W.P. Hogan
Pages: 73-89
Abstract:
A somewhat controversial aspect of prudential policy in Australia has been the supervision of bank ownership and control. This paper initially surveys the historical development of this supervision and then provides an economic analysis of ownership controls. Empirical evidence is explored for its implications.
Full Text PDF (7.49MB)
Cost Recovery Arrangements for Interstate Land Transport in Australia: A Review of Recent Policy Initiatives
J.E. Davies
Pages: 91-102
Full Text PDF (3.19MB)
Book Reviews:
- Dilemmas of Development: Reflections on the Counter-Revolution in Development Theory and Policy (J. Toye)
- Financial Incentives and Entrepreneurial Medicine Problems and Solutions (R.J.R. Richardson)
- The Rise and Fall of Monetarism: The Theory and Politics of an Economic Experiment (D. Smith)
- The Future Impact of Technology on Work and Education (G. Burke and R.W. Rumberger)
- Premodern Financial Systems: A Historical Comparative Study
- The Economics of Imperfect Competition (R.W. Goldsmith)
- Effort, Opportunity and Wealth (J.L. Simon)
- Recent Developments in Corporative Finance (J. Edwards, J. Franks, C. Mayer and S. Schaefer)
- The Individual in the Economy: A Survey of Economic Psychology (S.E.G. Lea, R.M. Tarpy and P. Webley)
- The Individual in the Economy: A Survey of Economic Psychology (S.E.G. Lea, R.M. Tarpy and P. Webley)
- International Capital Movements (C.P. Kindleberger)
- The Economics of Uranium (A.D. Owen)
Pages: 103-123
Full Text PDF (6.78MB)
(rar 31MB) 
(zip 31.1MB)
