Archived publication for 2003 in IPA Backgrounder
Recent publications
Australian Aid Policy: A Case of Lose/Lose, not Win/Win
Australia’s aid programme is significant, particularly in the Pacific, totalling (in 2000–01 terms) around $50 billion since 1975. It also accounts for a significant and growing share of scarce national...
Myth and the Murray: Measuring The Real State of the Environment
We have all heard about the declining health of the Murray River, including poor water quality, dying red gums and threats to the continued survival of the Murray cod---this is the popular view in urban Australia. Along the river, communities...
Property Rights to Water: Effects on Agricultural Productivity and the Environment
If water rights are taken away without compensation, major incentives that power the economy’s well-being are undermined.
The Good Reputation Index: A Tale of Two Strategies
A fundamental objective of measuring corporate reputation is to regulate corporate behaviour. Faced with vocal constituencies who want to divert the corporation from its commercial objectives, the corporation can choose one of two strategies: to...
Petroleum Refining: Rationalization or Atrophy?
The Australian petroleum refining industry provides the fuel without which our economy and society could not function. It is an industry in trouble. It is fragmented and badly structured.