Productivity Commission

"If the nature and scale of the policy problems confronting us have become ever more complicated, then we as a country will need our future brightest minds bent to the task of solving them. "Unfortunately, the pipeline of tomorrow’s star economists is worryingly narrow." Chair Danielle Wood talked about the future of the economics profession in her keynote address for the #AustralianPublicSector Economics Conference at the University of Melbourne Faculty of Business and Economics. "While interest in studying economics has dropped overall, the number of female economics students have disappeared at an even faster pace. "Since the early 1990s, the gender split has gone from fifty-fifty, to male students now outnumbering females two to one." Read more: https://lnkd.in/g6Y9PWYV #Economists #Economics #AusEcon

Every payslip we receive, every prescription we pick up, every doctor’s appointment we attend, tax return we submit, or childcare session we book, all create unit records in government systems. These government records, known as administrative data, have the potential to be joined together to enable analysis of public policy challenges where a single dataset would be insufficient. The Person Level Integrated Data Asset (PLIDA) is a linked administrative data asset that is managed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. It provides secure access to deidentified data on the Australian population across a range of policy areas including health, education, employment, taxation, government transfer payments, and population demographics. With the development of PLIDA, Australia is joining global leaders like Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland in the linked administrative data space. In this paper, we explore opportunities to use PLIDA for public policy research and reporting. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g4GVqaEi For researchers, this deidentified and secure data presents an opportunity to move from small surveys with several thousand respondents, to multimillion anonymised datasets – the equivalent of moving from single track audio to surround sound when listening to the stories that society is telling policy makers. For example, linking income data with location, health, education, and employment data over time can help researchers develop a greater appreciation of the potentially complex nature of disadvantage. #DataAnalysis #PLIDA #PersonLevelData #Behaviour #AdministrativeData #AusEcon #AusPol #Policy #PolicyResearch #Research #PolicyDevelopment #PublicPolicy

What’s the source of Australia’s international competitiveness? And is it under threat in the current geopolitical environment?   This is the question Mandala’s Adam Triggs tackled with ANZ’s Head of Geopolitical Risk, Cameron Mitchell, and Commissioner Catherine de Fontenay from the Productivity Commission at the Australian Centre for International Trade and Investment’s annual conference.   The answer? Much of Australia’s international competitiveness has come from our highly skilled workforce, strong institutions and markets that flexibly adapt to changing circumstances (think: labour markets, product markets, capital markets) but the new strategic environment and transitions like climate change create opportunities and challenges that warrant an increased role for government, provided it is targeted and evidence-based.   A huge thank you to Pru Gordon for organising such a great event, and to Senator the Hon Tim Ayres and the Hon Angus Taylor MP for their terrific presentations. #geopolitics #competition

Social Policy Commissioner | The Government is seeking applications for the role of social policy Commissioner at the PC. To be successful, you will have qualifications in one or more of the following: - social policy development, evaluation and implementation - microeconomic policy/reform  - policy drivers of productivity and economic growth  - legislative and/or regulatory frameworks - energy and other essential infrastructure, or - econometrics and economic modelling. You'll also bring extensive skills and experience in dealing with the social effects of economic adjustment and social welfare service delivery. You will demonstrate leadership, a high level of judgment, advanced proficiency in research and analysis, superior communications skills, a high standard of professional and personal integrity as well as capacity to promote these in an organisation. Does this sound like you? Find out more and apply now: https://bit.ly/412n877 Applications close 11:59pm (AEDT) on Sunday, 8 December 2024. #LeadTheTeam #Leadership #Commissioner #JobAd #Hiring #Careers #WorkWithUs

"It is curiosity and the ability to make connections across different areas that will help you advance your career." Our Chair Danielle Wood shared some advice for data graduates and early-career professionals in the public service at the 2024 Australian Government Data Forum in Canberra. Danielle responded to audience questions on careers in data fields, highlights from a typical day at work and more. Watch here: https://bit.ly/3V3LWYx

In case you missed it... Read Chair Danielle Wood and Deputy Chair Alex Robson's opinion piece: https://bit.ly/3ZhtgHp 'Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.' As PC chair Danielle Wood and deputy chair Alex Robson wrote in this opinion piece, that quote by artist Vincent van Gogh applies just as easily to economic reform. Policymakers shouldn't be discouraged by the apparently small pay-offs from individual policy changes, according to Ms Wood and Mr Robson. Put enough together, and the returns can be large. The PC's modelling, for example, finds a revitalised National Competition Policy (NCP) could permanently boost Australia’s GDP by up to $45 billion a year – equivalent to about $5000 per household per year. 'Economic reform is never easy.' 'But it is by doing this important work, dismantling policy barriers to productivity brushstroke by brushstroke, that we generate long-term improvements in our living standards.' #Productivity #EconomicReforms #AusPol #AusEcon #Economics #Economy

"It’s not enough to say we’re recommitting or reaffirming... It’s more important to get on with the job and be measured against that performance." Former Commissioner Romlie Mokak spoke with Patricia Karvelas about the future of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander policy, following the inaugural Mokak Oration on Wednesday November 20. "Part of this Oration is not just to listen, but to think and then to act. That's the call for those who are reading or listening to the Oration." Listen here: https://ab.co/40Y3Nnu

"At the heart of it all must be the people. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. And we must be at the centre of policy decision making, program design and implementation. We are not just another stakeholder in our own futures. Not just another cohort to consult with. We are not just another population group to cover or another segment of a market to survey. We are the First Peoples of this place. With our sciences, our knowledges and our solutions." To a packed hall comprising former Commissioners and other invitees, the PC's first Indigenous Policy Evaluation Commissioner Romlie Mokak delivered these powerful words, as part of the inaugural annual Mokak oration named in his honour at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra. Read the full speech here: https://bit.ly/3V30zvc The annual Oration recognises the achievements and contributions of prominent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to Australian public policy and holds space for sharing their insights and impact. Danielle Wood Selwyn Button

'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are designing futures in all sorts of sophisticated and systematic ways.' As the PC's first Aboriginal Commissioner (2019–24), Romlie Mokak drove the need to authentically engage with and work alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, organisations and communities. Mr Mokak, a Djugun man and a member of the Yawuru people, challenged the PC to work in ways where Indigenous knowledges and Western methodologies co-existed rather than competed. In an opinion piece drawing on three decades working in public policy, he writes: 'I’ve been in a unique position to follow the progress to close the gap and the barriers continuing to be faced'. 'The most fundamental of these barriers is a failure to put Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the centre of policy decision-making, program design and implementation.' 'Put another way, it is about a failure to share power.' Read more: https://bit.ly/3OigceD

'Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.' As our chair Danielle Wood and deputy chair Alex Robson write in the AFR, that quote by artist Vincent van Gogh applies just as easily to economic reform. Policymakers shouldn't be discouraged by the apparently small pay-offs from individual policy changes, Ms Wood and Mr Robson write. Put enough together, and the returns can be large. The PC's modelling, for example, finds a revitalised National Competition Policy (NCP) could permanently boost Australia’s GDP by up to $45 billion a year – equivalent to about $5000 per household per year. 'Economic reform is never easy,' they write. 'But it is by doing this important work, dismantling policy barriers to productivity brushstroke by brushstroke, that we generate long-term improvements in our living standards.' Read more: https://bit.ly/3ZnGUsN