Volume 27, Issue 1, 1997
Articles:
- Plus Ça Change: Problems Faced by the Queensland Government Economic Advisor (Peter Crossman)
- Characteristics and Attitudes of Australia’s Finance Journalists (John Henningham)
- Market Power and Contestability in Factor Markets: The Case of Tomato Pricing (Phillip Hone)
- Partitioning Growth in Queensland Tourism Expenditure (Trevor Mules)
- Microeconomic Reform in the Australian Sugar Industry? (Phil Simmons)
Click here to go back to previous page
Plus Ça Change: Problems Faced by the Queensland Government Economic Advisor
Peter Crossman
Pages: 1-42
Characteristics and Attitudes of Australia’s Finance Journalists
John Henningham
Pages: 45-58
Abstract:
The approximately 200 financial journalists employed by mainstream Australian news media have a paramount role in setting the agenda for public debate in the economic area, yet little is known about the nature of this important group. This study reports on the occupational characteristics and professional values of finance specialists, drawing on data from a comprehensive national survey of Australian journalists. It is found that in comparison with their colleagues, finance journalists are better paid, better educated and more likely to be from middle class socio-economic backgrounds. They are somewhat cynical, critical of news media performance, and are more inclined to classify themselves as left-learning than right-wing. Most have observed improper managerial interference in the newsroom, and support government regulation of media. The results of this study may provide a framework for analysis of media coverage of finance and the economy.
Market Power and Contestability in Factor Markets: The Case of Tomato Pricing
Phillip Hone
Pages: 59-73
Abstract:
Industry analysts, such as the Industry Commission (1991), have generally argued against government intervention to deal with market power in factor markets when the markets involved are highly contestable. In this paper it is shown that, under some conditions, the combination of a high degree of market concentration and contestability may create efficiency problems. The critical conditions are when industry output is small relative to the minimum efficient scale of the operations of the factor consumers and the marginal value products of the factor consumers are not constant over substantial ranges of input use. The potential policy implications of this set of circumstances are examined in the context of the Victorian tomato processing industry.
Partitioning Growth in Queensland Tourism Expenditure
Trevor Mules
Pages: 75-83
Abstract:
The Queensland state economy has been one of the fastest growing in Australia over the past decade. Tourism is widely recognised as being one of the driving forces behind that growth. Total expenditure in the host economy by tourists is dependent not only on the number of visitors, but also on their behaviour. At the broad level, “behaviour” covers such things as length of stay and expenditure per day. Purpose of visit and usual place of residence may contribute to variability in these measures. It is found that length of stay is changing in the opposite direction to the positive effects of changes in average expenditure and numbers of visitors. Partitioning of changes in tourism expenditure into these components enables policy makers to better understand the changes that are occurring in aggregate tourism expenditure.
Microeconomic Reform in the Australian Sugar Industry?
Phil Simmons
Pages: 85-99
Abstract:
The Industry Commission proposals for removal of the sugar tariff and of the statutory acquisition powers of the Queensland Sugar Corporation (QSC) are examined using a linear model. Measures of change in surplus resulting from the proposed policy changes are supported by an analysis of their sensitivity to different values of the elasticities. It is concluded that tariff reform is unlikely to be justified on welfare grounds when adjustment costs are considered and that the net gains from the proposed removal of the QSC statutory powers are likely to be small. A more general point is made that the focus of the broader microeconomic reform debate on transfer effects rather than efficiency effects and emphasis on general principles rather than empirical issues could lead to policy errors.
(rar 2.98MB) 
(zip 3.01MB)
