The flexibility of farms to respond to changing economic or environmental conditions has received... more The flexibility of farms to respond to changing economic or environmental conditions has received attention in recent years, particularly in the context of changes in the availability and pricing of irrigation water. This study uses a new unit record data set of Australian farms and a generalised profit-function framework to assess the links between farm performance and water use practices, involvement in water trading and other farm characteristics. Amongst other findings, the study provides experimental estimates of the responsiveness of the demand for irrigation water to price changes and the impact of farmers either buying or selling water on farm profits, after controlling for other factors.
Assessing the importance of national economic reform — Australian Productivity Commission experie... more Assessing the importance of national economic reform — Australian Productivity Commission experience*
A dynamic version of the GTAP model became available in 2012. The dynamic version known as GDyn, ... more A dynamic version of the GTAP model became available in 2012. The dynamic version known as GDyn, introduced partial adjustment mechanisms for capital accumulation and a dynamic accounting of capital-finance and related income flows between regional households and firms, and a global trust. In long-run equilibrium, the model rates of return are to be equal and constant over time. In practice, illustrative results presented with the release of GDyn show the equilibrium conditions are not satisfied. This paper confirms this model property. It finds that this gives rise to model instability which limits the use of GDyn for the analysis of economic growth within a neoclassical framework. To achieve model stability and overcome this limitation, modelling of rates of return and capital-finance flows is further developed within the GDyn framework to satisfy the stated longer-run neoclassical equilibrium conditions. Results of the revised model demonstrating a stable, long-run equilibrium ar...
Following the global financial crisis, economic growth and international trade growth have been s... more Following the global financial crisis, economic growth and international trade growth have been sluggish. Current projections indicate that growth may continue to be sluggish in the medium term. These continuing trends will limit income raising productivity growth needed to maintain and improve living standards with population ageing across many economies. It will also limit capacities needed to raise living standards amongst lower income regions. Gaining public acceptance of productivity improving policies and the contribution that trade openness makes, however, is getting harder due to re-emerging national protectionist sentiments. This note looks at possible ways to improve trade policy formulation at the national, regional and global levels through evidence to bolster the case for greater openness and economic reform. Growth could be revived if G20 countries act to implement deeper and wider trade and economic reforms, and avoid policies that limit productivity growth prospects.
Effective economic reform agendas provide a means for promoting national economic growth, raising... more Effective economic reform agendas provide a means for promoting national economic growth, raising living standards and adapting to changes in trading conditions, new technologies and ways of working. Taking as a focus the Australia-China economic relationship, the GTAP model of the global economy is used to project the implications for Australia and China of preferential, unilateral and broader approaches to trade liberalisation, a broad agenda for reform across the services sector and financial market reform. The simulations show that reform strategies based on non-discriminatory trade liberalization and broadly-based concerted domestic reforms are likely to deliver substantive economic benefits and contribute to growth. Agendas that are restrictive, either through preferential deals between trading partners or through a narrow sectoral focus domestically are likely to constrain gains below levels that would otherwise be attainable.
This staff research note describes the uses and abuses of input-output tables, with the aim of im... more This staff research note describes the uses and abuses of input-output tables, with the aim of improving future utility of what is an important but sometimes misused resource. In doing so, the note examines a number of novel approaches to effective use and some examples of abuse. Novel uses include: an environment-economic input-output framework; analysis of the composition of exports; and foreign value-added levels in nations’ exports. Abuse primarily relates to overstating the economic importance of specific sectoral or regional activities. It is likely that if all such analyses were to be aggregated, they would sum to much more than the total for the Australian economy. Claims that jobs ‘gained’ directly from the cause being promoted will lead to cascading gains in the wider economy often fail to give any consideration to the restrictive nature of the assumptions required for input-output multiplier exercises to be valid. In particular, these applications fail to consider the opportunity cost of both spending measures and alternate uses of resources, and may misinform policy-makers. Input-output data and tables on which multipliers are based may be extremely useful in economic analysis. They can provide valuable information about the structure of economies that is not available from other frameworks. Used appropriately, input-output tables provide a powerful tool for reporting and analysing the industrial structure of an economy. They also form the foundations for constructing a range of economic models which, with due attention to their underpinning assumptions, can be used to more properly assess the impacts of policy changes
Australia has a long history in the compilation and use of input-output tables . The tables are u... more Australia has a long history in the compilation and use of input-output tables . The tables are used for a variety of descriptive analyses, benchmar king of industry assist ance and policy modelling at a regional and national level. This paper outlines the us e made of input-output data in Australia and examines recent changes in the tr eatment of
Industry Commission Staff Research Paper, AGPS, …, 1997
This study examines the contribution that productivity improvements have made to growth in the Au... more This study examines the contribution that productivity improvements have made to growth in the Australian economy over the last two decades. Productivity growth is first placed in a national context through a comparative analysis of ten broad industry sectors. The study ...
The flexibility of farms to respond to changing economic or environmental conditions has received... more The flexibility of farms to respond to changing economic or environmental conditions has received attention in recent years, particularly in the context of changes in the availability and pricing of irrigation water. This study uses a new unit record data set of Australian farms and a generalised profit-function framework to assess the links between farm performance and water use practices, involvement in water trading and other farm characteristics. Amongst other findings, the study provides experimental estimates of the responsiveness of the demand for irrigation water to price changes and the impact of farmers either buying or selling water on farm profits, after controlling for other factors.
Assessing the importance of national economic reform — Australian Productivity Commission experie... more Assessing the importance of national economic reform — Australian Productivity Commission experience*
A dynamic version of the GTAP model became available in 2012. The dynamic version known as GDyn, ... more A dynamic version of the GTAP model became available in 2012. The dynamic version known as GDyn, introduced partial adjustment mechanisms for capital accumulation and a dynamic accounting of capital-finance and related income flows between regional households and firms, and a global trust. In long-run equilibrium, the model rates of return are to be equal and constant over time. In practice, illustrative results presented with the release of GDyn show the equilibrium conditions are not satisfied. This paper confirms this model property. It finds that this gives rise to model instability which limits the use of GDyn for the analysis of economic growth within a neoclassical framework. To achieve model stability and overcome this limitation, modelling of rates of return and capital-finance flows is further developed within the GDyn framework to satisfy the stated longer-run neoclassical equilibrium conditions. Results of the revised model demonstrating a stable, long-run equilibrium ar...
Following the global financial crisis, economic growth and international trade growth have been s... more Following the global financial crisis, economic growth and international trade growth have been sluggish. Current projections indicate that growth may continue to be sluggish in the medium term. These continuing trends will limit income raising productivity growth needed to maintain and improve living standards with population ageing across many economies. It will also limit capacities needed to raise living standards amongst lower income regions. Gaining public acceptance of productivity improving policies and the contribution that trade openness makes, however, is getting harder due to re-emerging national protectionist sentiments. This note looks at possible ways to improve trade policy formulation at the national, regional and global levels through evidence to bolster the case for greater openness and economic reform. Growth could be revived if G20 countries act to implement deeper and wider trade and economic reforms, and avoid policies that limit productivity growth prospects.
Effective economic reform agendas provide a means for promoting national economic growth, raising... more Effective economic reform agendas provide a means for promoting national economic growth, raising living standards and adapting to changes in trading conditions, new technologies and ways of working. Taking as a focus the Australia-China economic relationship, the GTAP model of the global economy is used to project the implications for Australia and China of preferential, unilateral and broader approaches to trade liberalisation, a broad agenda for reform across the services sector and financial market reform. The simulations show that reform strategies based on non-discriminatory trade liberalization and broadly-based concerted domestic reforms are likely to deliver substantive economic benefits and contribute to growth. Agendas that are restrictive, either through preferential deals between trading partners or through a narrow sectoral focus domestically are likely to constrain gains below levels that would otherwise be attainable.
This staff research note describes the uses and abuses of input-output tables, with the aim of im... more This staff research note describes the uses and abuses of input-output tables, with the aim of improving future utility of what is an important but sometimes misused resource. In doing so, the note examines a number of novel approaches to effective use and some examples of abuse. Novel uses include: an environment-economic input-output framework; analysis of the composition of exports; and foreign value-added levels in nations’ exports. Abuse primarily relates to overstating the economic importance of specific sectoral or regional activities. It is likely that if all such analyses were to be aggregated, they would sum to much more than the total for the Australian economy. Claims that jobs ‘gained’ directly from the cause being promoted will lead to cascading gains in the wider economy often fail to give any consideration to the restrictive nature of the assumptions required for input-output multiplier exercises to be valid. In particular, these applications fail to consider the opportunity cost of both spending measures and alternate uses of resources, and may misinform policy-makers. Input-output data and tables on which multipliers are based may be extremely useful in economic analysis. They can provide valuable information about the structure of economies that is not available from other frameworks. Used appropriately, input-output tables provide a powerful tool for reporting and analysing the industrial structure of an economy. They also form the foundations for constructing a range of economic models which, with due attention to their underpinning assumptions, can be used to more properly assess the impacts of policy changes
Australia has a long history in the compilation and use of input-output tables . The tables are u... more Australia has a long history in the compilation and use of input-output tables . The tables are used for a variety of descriptive analyses, benchmar king of industry assist ance and policy modelling at a regional and national level. This paper outlines the us e made of input-output data in Australia and examines recent changes in the tr eatment of
Industry Commission Staff Research Paper, AGPS, …, 1997
This study examines the contribution that productivity improvements have made to growth in the Au... more This study examines the contribution that productivity improvements have made to growth in the Australian economy over the last two decades. Productivity growth is first placed in a national context through a comparative analysis of ten broad industry sectors. The study ...
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