Agenda - Volume 15 - Issue 1

Dear Member,

ANU E Press has published the first issue for 2008 of the journal 'Agenda - Volume 15 - Issue 1' online. You can now view or download the online version or purchase a print copy at the following URL address:

http://epress.anu.edu.au/agenda/015/01/

This issue includes the following articles:

The Thoughts of Chairman McGuinness by Geoff Kingston

Some Sectoral and Global Distributional Issues in Greenhouse Gas Policy Design by John Freebairn

Abstract:
This paper argues it will be welfare-improving at a national level to auction tradable greenhouse gas permits, and , at an international level, for first-world countries to bribe third-world countries to join a cooperative solution.

Capitation in New Zealand'ss Primary Health Care Sector: The Perverse Consequences of Neglecting Financial Risk Allocation by Bronwyn Howell

Abstract:
Using analysis of the management of ‘random’ and ‘controllable’ risk in capitation contracts, this paper critiques the arrangements in the New Zealand Primary Health Care Strategy (NZPHCS) introduced in 2002. Total system costs have undoubtedly risen under the mixed capitation model adopted, relative to fee-for-service. By requiring only those treated to pay all costs not factored into the government’s prospective capitation payments, the burden of unanticipated risk-management costs falls disproportionately on the sickest patients. Rather than resources being allocated on the basis of health need, the sickest individuals bear a disproportionate share of the cost of random demand shocks.

Understanding Australian Income Inequality: The Proper Role played by Globalisation, De-unionisation and the Terms of Trade by John Gaston

Abstract:
This paper examines the key determinants of Australia’s income inequality. The main finding is that ‘globalisation’ — broadly-defined — has increased income inequality. However, this impact is not attributable to increased trade openness and falling trade barriers.

No Lessons Learned: A Critique of the Queensland Local Government Reform Commission Final Report by Brian Dollery, Chong Mun Ho and James Alin

Abstract:
On 17 April 2007 the Queensland government established a Reform Commission to consider the compulsory amalgamation of local councils. On 27 July 2007 the Commission recommended a program of compulsory amalgamation that would reduce the number of local councils from 157 to 73. These recommendations were passed into law amidst great acrimony in the early hours of 10 August. This paper provides a critical evaluation of the arguments for amalgamation presented by the Commission in the light of the scholarly literature on local government mergers.

The Biggest Loser: Education and Skilled Immigration in Australia by Peter E. Robertson

Abstract:
Recent studies indicate that skilled immigration is most likely to achieve only small net welfare gains. Nevertheless, the distributional impact of skilled immigration is potentially large, despite the lack of attention paid it. The paper argues that the recent expansion of skilled immigrants may have led to a crowding out of domestic demand for education. Consequently, the expansion of skilled immigration may have contributed to the ‘big squeeze’ in Australian universities, rather than easing the mismatch problems in the labour market.

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