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Articles on Labour market reform

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Treasurer Joe Hockey joins a long line of leaders unable to close the gap between promise and reality. Dave Hunt/AAP

Joe Hockey and the G20 headed for promise fatigue

Governments are notorious for missing targets. Look no further than France or Spain’s recent fiscal calumny, despite the European Union’s excessive deficit procedure. Closer to home, the Association of…
Australia is a long way from consensus on G20 economic growth. Jason Reed/AAP

Australia may be hosting the G20, but it’s no G20 leader

When the central bank governors and finance ministers from the G20 agreed in February to increase growth by at least two percentage points over the next five years, they fell short of delivering a common…
The government incentivises workers to relocate for a job, but is it incentivising the right workers? Faisal Akram/Flickr

Moving for work: not the panacea the government seeks

As a policy response to unemployment and structural change, incentives for workers to relocate in search of work have been pushing higher up the policy agenda. This has been the trend since the World Bank’s…
Emerging economies like India are pushing ahead on innovation measures, while advanced economies see productivity declines. World Bank/Flickr

Demystifying the global productivity puzzle

The Conference Board’s latest productivity measure shows efficiency remains a problem for the global economy - and interestingly that innovation, despite occurring, may not be helping. The business research…
There is little evidence to support the belief that Australia’s productivity declines are linked to the need for labour market reform. AAP

Australia’s choice: the ‘high road’ to productivity or a race to the bottom

It is not easy to devise a solution to Australia’s productivity slowdown when a shared understanding of the problem is so elusive. While there is recognition among policy-makers that productivity is a…
Plans by Spain’s new conservative government to push through deep labour reform has provoked protests, as it struggles to tackle its soaring unemployment rate. AAP

Spain strikes against TINA, as the Eurozone watches on

Spain’s general strike last week has sent a clear message to other Eurozone countries about how challenging it may be to implement labour market reform. The strike was mostly peaceful, with the exception…
Young people are subjected to the most harmful economic effects of the two-speed economy.

Youth unemployment: a two-speed divide?

Much of the commentary around the “two-speed” economy focuses on the differences between the gains made by mining-related sectors and other parts of the Australian economy that have slowed in recent years…
Cutting penalty rates and reviving individual workplace agreements will have no impact on productivity. AAP

Workplace ‘reform’ won’t cure our ailing productivity

Business leaders are insisting changes be made to the Fair Work Act to boost productivity. Retailers apparently face a crisis because of penalty rates, and an MP agrees that penalty rates stymie productivity…
Back in the day…. the electorate rejected labour market reform the first time, so why push for a return? AAP

Let’s resist these efforts to bring back labour market reform

When it comes to improving living standards in Australia today, labour market reform is not a first-order issue. Achieving better health and social outcomes for the Indigenous population - yes. Increasing…

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