Recent publications in IPA Review article
The market works
‘If you are offered free fruit and vegetables at the market, you know they will be rotten. If you want fresh produce, then you have to pay for it.' This observation from a Kenyan mother describes in a nutshell why millions of parents in...
Education and federalism: the last line of defence
One of federalism's great virtues is that it provides a means to smaller government. Demarcated power limits the spending excesses of individual governments and provides a check to overarching state authority. The politics of Australian federalism...
A real education revolution will need (yes, you guessed it...) vouchers
The big education talk started before the 2007 federal election. The opposition, led by Kevin Rudd, said in a discussion paper: ‘Australia needs nothing less than a revolution in education.' Certainly, since November 2007 the Rudd government...
Can free markets be as interesting as regulated markets?
Sinclair Davidson reviews The Best Book on the Market: How to Stop Worrying and Love the Free Economyby Eamonn Butler (Capstone, 2008, 172 pages) Eamonn Butler has written a marvellous little book promoting the free market. The best book on...
The intellectual gap goes to university
Following a campaign by the Australian Liberal Students Federation, a Senate committee is investigating the level of intellectual diversity at Australian universities. It is well-known that academia-and more often than not those who are university...
Fear of school profit holding quality back
In Australia, schools are operated either by the government or by not-for-profit private organisations. It is prohibited to run a school to make a financial profit. In the United States there is no such prohibition. And a recent study published by...