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• Labour Market

Labour markets tend to be among the most regulated markets in the economy. While these regulations were meant to protect workers, they are often counterproductive by putting obstacles in the way to job creation. Finding the right balance between these two goals remains a difficult task.

Don’t get starry-eyed about housing
Oliver Marc HartwichSeptember 5, 2011Sydney Morning Herald

DURING the Cold War reliable information about the inner workings of the Soviet leadership was...

A miracle that masks a mirage
Oliver Marc HartwichSeptember 1, 2011The Australian

THE announced job losses at BlueScope's steel plants are just the latest episode in the...

A poisoned chalice of EU power
Oliver Marc HartwichAugust 25, 2011Business Spectator

The much hyped meeting last week between Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy would have made...

Who needs credit ratings? They should be optional
August 23, 2011Crikey

Banks and investors should thrive or die by the quality of their own assessments of...

America and Europe jump together
Oliver Marc HartwichAugust 19, 2011

Reading news from both sides of the North Atlantic, it looks as if America and...

US Congress swapped a crisis yesterday for a bigger crisis tomorrow
August 9, 2011Crikey

I provoked a tirade of abuse from Crikey readers in the past fortnight when I...

The Case for a New Australian Settlement: Ruminations of an Inveterate Economist
Wolfgang KasperJune 26, 2015OP141

Australia needs a cultural counter-revolution that appeals to the traditional Australian spirit of self-reliance and...

Fairer Paid Parental Leave
Matthew TaylorJuly 7, 2014T30.11

Australia spends just under $1.4 billion (2012–13) on statutory Paid Parental Leave (PPL) to provide...

Not Looking for Work: The Rise of Non-Jobseekers on Unemployment Benefits
Andrew BakerJuly 31, 2013PM136

Following the global financial crisis, the incumbent Labor government introduced policies that reduced the job...

TARGET30: Reducing the burden for future generations
David Murray AO, Maurice Newman, Simon CowanJuly 1, 2013PF25

TARGET30 is a campaign promoting smaller government and cutting government spending to less than 30%...

Relics of a Byzantine IR System: Why Awards Should Be Abolished
Alexander PhilipatosMay 23, 2013IA140

Howard’s Work Choices reforms were seen by many as the enemy of the Aussie ‘fair...

Australia and the Asian Ascendancy: Why Upskilling is Not Necessary to Reap the Rewards
Benjamin HerscovitchFebruary 19, 2013IA137

Australia’s Asian embrace: Australia’s exports to Asia are almost triple its exports to the rest...

Why the war on wokeness is actually killing conservatives in Australia
Simon CowanNovember 29, 2025CANBERRA TIMES
Australian conservatives — however much they might be impressed by the way MAGA has fought...
Confessions of an Industrial Relations Club reporter
Michael StutchburyNovember 21, 2025AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW
A half-century on from stagflation, outdated workplace rules and union monopolies remain the biggest barrier...
At this rate, the only outcome from this summit will be making us poorer
Simon CowanAugust 9, 2025CANBERRA TIMES

As we approach the productivity summit to end all summits, the various players have begun...

Here’s why forcing workers back to the office won’t have the desired effect
Simon CowanMarch 22, 2025CANBERRA TIMES

Working from home is sneakily becoming one of the biggest emerging fault-lines in our society....

There are two ways to lift our living standards. Coasting isn’t one of them
Simon CowanAugust 26, 2024CANBERRA TIMES
News this week that the iron ore price has fallen to the lowest level in...
Back to the Future: Workplace Reform Takes Centre Stage Again.
Andrew BlythJune 5, 2024SPECTATOR

The industrial relations scare campaign has begun, as we count down to the next federal...

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Submission to the Independent Review of the Australian Public Service
Simon Cowan, Eugenie JosephAugust 1, 2018
Productivity Commission Inquiry Into Introducing Competition and Informed User Choice into Human Services: Submission in response to issues paper
Trisha JhaJuly 1, 2016CIS Submission

The Human Services Inquiry is ‘examining policy options in the human services sector that incorporate...

Submission to the National Commission of Audit
Alexander Philipatos, Jennifer Buckingham OAM, Jeremy Sammut, Robert Carling, Simon Cowan, Stephen Kirchner, Trisha JhaApril 1, 2014T30.08

The federal government’s Commission of Audit (CoA) was established in 2013 to review the performance...

Submission to the Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations References Committee
Andrew BakerSeptember 10, 2012

Submission to the Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations References Committee

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Submission to Remote Participation and Employment Servicing Arrangements
Helen Hughes, Mark Hughes, Sara HudsonOctober 11, 2011

The Discussion Paper’s focus on participation and employment in remote Indigenous communities is welcome because...

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