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• Economic Policy

CIS is guided by the philosophy of global free markets and individual responsibility. Our economic policy research centres on ideas for continuing reform that will strengthen Australia’s economic independence and prosperity, and challenge the over-reach of big government.

The Third World Debt Crisis: Can’t Pay or Won’t Pay?
Peter T. BauerMarch 13, 1990OP31

In this Occasional Paper, Lord Bauer questions the widely held belief that debt service is...

Economic Control or Economic Development
Peter T. BauerJanuary 6, 1990OP27

In the sixth John Bonython Lecture, P.T. Bauer argues that wide-ranging state controls hinder the...

Regulating for Competition? Trade Practices Policy in a Changing Economy
Michael JamesDecember 1, 1989

This volume is a record of the combined proceedings of a CIS conference held in...

Rogernomics. Reshaping New Zealand’s economy
Simon WalkerMarch 26, 1989NZCIS

Between 1984 and 1988, the Fourth Labour Government undertook the most comprehensive and far-reaching revisions...

The Ethics of Economic Freedom
Herbert GierschMarch 3, 1989OP24

An economic order is always based on a certian set of moral principles. This applies...

The Welfare State: Foundations and Alternatives
Michael JamesMarch 1, 1989PF7

The central question for public policy in the 1990s is whether the state should retain...

The Rhetoric and Reality of Income Redistribution
Gordon TullockSeptember 25, 1981OP5

Income distribution is an overwhelming part of the program of all governments. Too often, however,...

Taxation, Inflation and the Role of the Government
Milton FriedmanJune 5, 1981OP4

Milton Friedman is one of the most authoritative and independent figures in the fields of...

Domestic Airline Regulation. The Australian debate
Michael G. KirbyMarch 26, 1981RS1

Government regulation of an increasing level of economic activity has become a feature of modern...

The Profit Motive
Antony FlewSeptember 26, 1980OP3

This paper is published as a contribution to the debate on economic and social issues...

Rent Control: Costs and Consequences
Robert AlbonSeptember 1, 1980R2

Most of the essays in Rent Control: Costs & Consequences have been written especially for...

On Buying a Job: The Regulation of a Taxicab in Canberra
Peter Swan AODecember 12, 1979PM1

Almost without exception, the licensing power is used to restrict the number of taxis to...

A workable way out of the welfare trap
Lawrence MeadAugust 18, 2004The Australian

IN the past decade, the US reduced its welfare rolls by more than 60 per...

Motherhood as a meal ticket
Barry Maley, Peter SaundersJuly 1, 2004The Australian

Most people believe new mothers should have the opportunity to spend time at home with...

Cut Taxes And Watch Economy Soar
Sinclair DavidsonJune 10, 2004The Australian Financial Review

The Treasury Secretary, Ken Henry , in a recent speech to Australian Business Economists ,...

High Earners Count Cost Of Tax
Peter SaundersJune 2, 2004The Australian Financial Review
The Price of Crime Without Doing Time
Nicole BillanteFebruary 7, 2003The Newcastle Herald

The Australian crime rate has escalated over the past 40 years. According to the International...

Tax is the key to welfare reform
Peter SaundersJanuary 20, 2003The Australian Financial Review

Tony Abbott wants to reform tax and welfare so that it pays to work. His...

“The 50% discount is unfair” and other CGT myths | Robert Carling & Michael Stutchbury
Robert Carling, Michael StutchburyMarch 11, 2026

The criticisms and characterization of the 50% capital gains tax discount over many years have...

The Case for Optimism: More People, More Ideas, More Wealth | Marian Tupy
Marian L. Tupy, Michael StutchburyMarch 6, 2026

Marian Tupy — editor of HumanProgress.org, senior fellow at the Cato Institute, and co-author of...

Old buildings and the housing crisis with Peter Tulip
Peter TulipMarch 4, 2026

Peter Tulip explains how several states have recently overhauled their planning legislation. However, the flaws...

Angus Taylor at CIS: Economic Reform, Immigration, and Australia’s Cost of Living Crisis
Angus Taylor, Michael StutchburyFebruary 19, 2026

Speaking at his first address outside Canberra since being elected Leader of the Opposition by...

Reflecting Back: John Howard and Alexander Downer on Power, Alliances and Australia
John Howard OM AC, Alexander DownerFebruary 6, 2026

Alexander Downer and former Prime Minister John Howard join author Tony Parkinson and CIS Executive...

‘NIMBYism is a cancer’: Bragg outlines housing policy vision with Peter Tulip & Michael Stutchbury
Andrew Bragg, Peter Tulip, Michael StutchburyDecember 12, 2025

Senator Andrew Bragg and economist Peter Tulip join Michael Stutchbury for a wide-ranging conversation on...

Submission to Senate Inquiry into Illegal Tobacco Crisis in Australia
Michael StutchburyJanuary 15, 2026
The federal government should pause increases in tobacco excise to weaken the profit of the...
Submission to Senate Education and Employment References Committee
Michael Wu October 22, 2025CIS

Despite good intentions, Australia’s Early Childhood Education and Care system has expanded well beyond its...

Submission to Productivity Commission’s Investing in cheaper, cleaner energy and the net zero transformation Interim Report
September 15, 2025

The Productivity Commission’s statement that careful emissions reduction policy design will enable gains in productivity...

Submission to Heritage NSW
Peter TulipJuly 18, 2025CIS

This submission argues that NSW’s heritage legislation has serious flaws. In particular, costs of listing...

Submission to Victorian Legislative Council Select Committee Inquiry
Peter TulipMay 5, 2025CIS

Victoria Planning Provisions Amendments VC257, VC267 and VC274: Submission to Victorian Legislative Council Select Committee...

Submission to the Inquiry into financial regulation and home ownership
Peter TulipOctober 15, 2024
Regulation of the financial system is needed to protect depositors and avoid financial crises. However,...
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