The Anatomy of the Creative City (journal article)
By Patrick Cohendet, David Grandadam and Laurent Simon
from Industry & Innovation Vol 17 Iss 1 Feb 2010, pp. 91 - 111
"The aim of this contribution is to depict and analyze the dynamics of situated creativity by presenting an anatomy of the creative city and an understanding of the emergence and formation of creative processes in these particular local ecologies of knowledge. We propose to study the anatomy of the creative city by defining three different layers—the upperground, the middleground and the underground—as the basic components of the creative processes in local innovative milieus. Each one of these layers intervenes with specific characteristics in the creative process, and enables new knowledge to transit from an informal micro-level to a formal macro-level. In order to illustrate this point of view, the creative city of Montral is analyzed through two main case studies: Ubisoft and the Cirque du Soleil. "

An Evaluation of the Economic Approaches Used by Policy Actors towards Investment in Place-Based Partnerships in Victoria (journal article)
By Chris McDonald et al
from Australian Journal of Public Administration Vol 69 Iss 1 2010, pp. 9 - 21
"Place-based partnerships are supported by the state and include various organisations and interests within particular geographic areas. The Victorian government has established place-based partnerships to plan and coordinate resource allocation decisions to meet objectives such as economic development and social inclusion. In the literature there are positive and negative views of these partnerships. One view is that they allow regions to build competitive advantage, while another is that they are a means of pursuing a neoliberal policy agenda that seeks to reduce government protection and investment. We help clarify the tensions between positive and negative views of partnerships by examining the economic approaches used by policy actors toward place-based partnerships in Victoria. We find that policy actors combine neoclassical and institutionalist approaches to argue that partnerships generate networks that enable more efficient and equitable resource allocation within places."

Boulevard of broken dreams : why public efforts to boost entrepreneurship and venture capital have failed--and what to do about it [book]
Author: Josh Lerner
"When has governmental sponsorship succeeded in boosting growth, and when has it fallen terribly short? Should the government be involved in such undertakings at all? Boulevard of Broken Dreams is the first extensive look at the ways governments have supported entrepreneurs and venture capitalists across decades and continents. Josh Lerner, one of the foremost experts in the field, provides valuable insights into why some public initiatives work while others are hobbled by pitfalls, and he offers suggestions for how public ventures should be implemented in the future." - cover.
Click here to request a copy through your library.

Call number: 338.04 BOU 2009

Regions matter : economic recovery, innovation and sustainable growth [online]
Author: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Why do some regions grow faster than others, and in ways that do not always conform to economic theory? This is a central issue in today's economic climate, when policy makers are looking for ways to stimulate new and sustainable growth.

OECD work suggests that there is no one-size-fits-all answer to regional growth policy. Rather, regions grow in very varied ways and the simple concentration of resources in a place is not sufficient for long-term growth. This report draws on OECD analysis of regional data (including where growth happens, country-by-country), policy reviews and case studies.

Corporate responses to climate change : achieving emissions reductions through regulation, self-regulation and economic incentives [book]

Author: Rory Sullivan

"Analyses current business practice and performance on climate change, in the light of the dramatic changes in the regulatory and policy environment over the last five years. More specifically, it examines how climate change-related policy development and implementation have influenced corporate performance, with the objective of using this information to consider how the next stage of climate change policy - regulation, incentives, voluntary initiatives - may be designed and implemented in a manner that delivers the real and substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that will be required." - cover.

Want to borrow a copy from the library? Click here to email through your request.

Robust Decision Making: Coping with Uncertainty (journal article)
By Robert J. Lempert, Steven W. Popper and Steven C. Bankes
from Futurist Vol. 44 Issue 1 Jan/Feb 2010, pp. 47-48
"The article focuses on the application of robust decision making (RDM) in taking the right choice in different situations. It states that RDM which emerged at RAND Corp. offers a variety of forecasts which provide the best option possible for decision makers. It mentions that the RDM is supported by a computer which tests the strategies using data extrapolations for iterative processes and suggests alternatives if the forecasts may perform poorly. In addition, the RDM also identifies the different characteristics of two or more plans together with their possible outcomes. The basic steps in RDM are also presented."

The Post-Scarcity World of 2050-2075 (journal article)
By Stephen Aguilar-Millan et al
from Futurist Vol. 44 Issue 1 Jan/Feb 2010, pp. 34-40
"The article presents the world economic forecast for 2050-2075. It states that scarcities in food, water and energy are expected to occur during these years which will greatly affect the operations of many institutions. It states that the aftereffects of the scarcity will impede the economic growth of 30 members of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development like U.S., Europe, and Australia. According to the European Union (EU), the scarcity will be the result of growing population wherein resources become limited."

Crunch time : using and abusing Keynes to fight the twin crises of our era [book]

Author: Tony Kevin

"Australia today faces an existential challenge: how to manage simultaneously our two greatest national crises - the local effects of the global recession and global climate disruption. ... Argues that Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is dealing with these twin crises inadequately, especially by comparison with how US President Barack Obama is tackling the same policy challenges in his nation." - page 1.

Click here to request a copy through your library.

Services, ICTs and the Changing Nature of Economic Development Processes in the KBE Era (journal article)
by Tom Mandeville and Hadi Kardoyo
in Prometheus, Volume 27, Issue 1 March 2009 , pages 17 - 25
"We present a concise, exploratory, discussion paper that provides some promising hypotheses concerning how economic development processes may be evolving in the KBE era. Emerging roles for ICTs and services in the economy are driving these changes. Developing countries may be able to leapfrog stages of growth, or structural change, that presently developed nations historically went through. Case studies of India and Indonesia are utilized. "

Introductory economics for decision makers [book]

Authors: Paul Frijters, Uwe Dulleck and Benno Torgler.

An introductory textbooks explaining economic concepts and how they shapes Australian policy. Topics covered include: Market failures and the role of government, Taxation, the Australian labour market, Economics and the environment, and Regulation and privatisation.

Grab a copy from the library!

Fiscal fallacies : the failure of activist fiscal policy [book]

Author: John Taylor [et al.] / Centre for Independent Studies (Australia)

A collection of essays which "demonstrate the ineffectiveness of activist Keynesian fiscal policy, referencing recent debates over fiscal stimulus packages in Australia and United States. ... Review the open economy, crowding out, and Richardian equivalence arguments against activist fiscal policy." - cover.

Want to borrow a copy from the library? Click here to email through your request.

Australian cultural and innovation policies: Never the twain shall meet? (journal article)
By Ben Eltham
from Innovation: Management Policy and Practice Vol 11 Iss 2 Aug 2009, pp. 230-239
"
In recent years, Australian cultural policy-makers have begun to pay more attention to innovation policy. Several of the Australian states specifically address issues of innovation in their formal cultural policies, and the Australia Council for the Arts has published an Innovation Strategy which purports to constitute 'a coordinated approach to supporting creativity as one of Australia's most valuable assets' (Australia Council 2006).
However, despite this prima facie policy commitment to supporting and fostering innovation in the arts and cultural industries, there remains a disconnect between cultural and innovation policies in Australia. On the one hand, cultural policies in Australia are confused and incoherent in their approach to cultural innovation, and many policy settings as they apply to cultural industries are antithetical to the aims of fostering innovation and R&D. Meanwhile, innovation policies continue to pay only marginal attention to the creative arts and cultural industries. This disconnect will be briefly examined in three fields of cultural policy: arts and cultural funding; copyright and intellectual property policy; and broadcast media policy.
It is argued that rather than promoting innovation, existing policy frameworks in all three areas, when not specifically framed around the protection of vested interests, are often contradictory and inimical to the disruptive influence of innovative artists, technologies and firms. Possible reasons for the disconnect include pragmatic matters of busy ministers and low policy priorities, and conceptual confusion over the status and value of culture."
Contact the Library to request a copy of this article.

Government Subsidies for Professional Team Sports in Australia (journal article)
By John K. Wilson and Richard Pomfret
from Australian Economic Review Vol 42 Iss 3 2009, pp. 264 - 275
"Professional team sports represent an important aspect of Australian life. Interest is great, and a significant portion of household expenditure is directed toward sports-related goods and services. Based on international comparisons and on the size of attendance and television revenues, the sector should be highly profitable. Yet, significant amounts of public funding and regulatory exemptions are afforded to team sports in Australia. This article analyses the magnitude and reasons for government spending that subsidises professional team sports."

State of the Arts and Innovation: Before and After the Review of the National Innovation System (journal article)
By Luke Jaaniste
from Australian Journal of Public Administration Vol 38 No 3 2009, pp. 272 - 287
"This article examines the relationship between the arts and national innovation policy in Australia, pivoting around the Venturous Australia report released in September 2008 as part of the Review of the National Innovation System (RNIS). This came at a time of optimism that the arts sector would be included in Australia's federal innovation policy. However, despite the report's broad vision for innovation and specific commentary on the arts, the more ambitious hopes of arts sector advocates remained unfulfilled. This article examines the entwining discourses of creativity and innovation which emerged globally and in Australia prior to the RNIS, before analysing Venturous Australia in terms of the arts and the ongoing science-and-technology bias to innovation policy. It ends by considering why sector-led policy research and lobbying has to date proved unsuccessful and then suggests what public policy development is now needed."

Revealing Australia’s Real Income Tax Rates (journal article)
By John Humphreys
From Policy Vol 25 Issue 2 Winter 2009, pp. 32-34.
“The article focuses on the effort of the government of Australia to engage an inquiry into the Australian tax and transfer system. According to the article, a transparent information on how the system works is needed to meaningfully address the income tax system. It is stated that the government must start publishing the real personal income tax scale which includes the full impacts of both the Medicare levy and low income tax onset (LITO).”

The 2008 state new economy index : benchmarking economic transformation in the states [online]

Authors: Robert D. Atkinson, Scott M. Andes, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) / Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

"Examines the degree to which [U.S.] state economies are knowledge-based, globalized, entrepreneurial, IT-driven, and innovation-based. With these indicators as a frame of reference, the report then outlines a state-level public policy framework aimed at helping states master forthcoming challenges and take advantage of opportunities." - introduction.

Government Ownership: why this time it should work (blog)
Source: McKinsey Quarterly 29 June 2009
"It's understandable that taxpayers and corporate executives would be anxious about the substantial stakes that the governments in the United Kingdom and the United States have taken in private companies in recent months. After all, political interference in state-owned enterprises in other countries has significantly hampered their profitability. Yet in this essay, Simon Wong, an independent advisor and adjunct professor of law at the Northwestern University School of Law, lays out five reasons for optimism this time around. "
(Free registration required)

Fiscal stimulus packages and uncertainty in times of crisis: economic policy for open economies (journal article)
by Ansgar Belke
from Economic Analysis and Policy, Vol 39, No 1, March 2009
Borrow this journal from the library or ask us for a copy of the article.
"Policymakers in the EU member states and around the world, as for instance in Australia, are currently shaping rescue packages to prevent the financial crisis hitting their economies with unmitigated force. Each government is responding to the emerging problems with a country-specific set of measures. Given the global nature of the crisis, would coordinated action at the European level not be a better approach?"

Economic analysis of 2009/10 Federal Budget: what does it mean for Australia and you?
Source: KPMG Econtech
This presentation provides a broad overview of our national-level forecasts which incorporate the major policy measures announced in the 2009/10 Budget.

Governing regional development policy : the use of performance indicators [online]

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

"Examines both the challenges and the opportunities associated with designing and using indicator systems as a tool for the governance of regional development policy." - abstract.