PC News - August 2014
Productivity Commission News
New commissioned projects
Natural disaster funding
The Australian Government has asked the Commission to undertake a public inquiry into the efficacy of current national natural disaster funding arrangements, taking into account the priority of effective natural disaster mitigation and the reduction in the impact of disasters on communities. An issues paper was released in May 2014, and a draft report will be released in September. The final report will be sent to Government in December 2014.
Costs of doing business: case studies
As part of the broader study on the Relative Costs of Doing Business in Australia, the Australian Government requested that the Productivity Commission undertake case studies of the costs facing businesses in two Australian industries: retail trade and dairy product manufacturing. The Commission published interim reports in June 2014 (see PC News article) and the final reports, including findings, will be provided to the Australian Government in early October 2014.
- Costs of Doing Business: Retail Trade Industry
- Costs of Doing Business in Australia: Dairy Product Manufacturing
- All current inquiries
- All current research
Richard Snape Lecture
The Productivity Commission's 2014 Richard Snape Lecture was presented in Melbourne on 23 June by Nobel-prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz. Professor Stiglitz is University Professor at Columbia University in New York and Chair of Columbia University's Committee on Global Thought. Stiglitz is best known for helping to create a new branch of economics, 'The Economics of Information,' exploring the consequences of information asymmetries and for developing concepts such as adverse selection and moral hazard.
In his presentation, titled 'Creating a Learning Society: A New Approach to Growth, Development and Social Progress', Professor Stiglitz focused on the importance of education and innovation in generating sustainable economic growth, and the role of government in promoting a successful 'learning society'.Pictured after the Lecture are Professor Joseph Stiglitz (far right) with (from left) Productivity Commission Deputy Chairman Mike Woods, Professor Max Corden and Richard Snape (Jnr). Professor Corden delivered the inaugural Richard Snape Lecture in 2003.