Overview

Room to Manoeuvre advocates a greater role for government and public processes in economic management. A most important and timely book. Paul Boreham, Geoff Dow and Martin Leet believe that ful employment is still attainable in Austrlaia. Having carefully studied unemployment policy performance in the major industrial democracies of the OECD over the past two decades, they are in the unique position of being able to answer such questions as- Why has Australia had higher unemployment than other countries over the past twenty-five years? Would solutions to unemployment require higher taxes? Has economic rationalism contributed to unemployment? What's more important for Australia's future- low unemployment or industry competitiveness? In Room to Manoeuvre they offer a startling research-based critique of contemporary Australian politics. Their analysis refutes contemporary policy orthodoxy and the unemployment strategies adopted by Australian governments. Room to Manoeuvre deals with political aspects of unemployment-the political failures which allow unemployment to continue; the political and institutional changes needed to reduce unemployment; and the political and intellectual dimensions of the role of orthodox policy advice. The analysis is based on a major international database, funded by the Australian Research Council, which focuses on employment, politics and the economy. Room to Manoeuvre demonstrates that, contrary to the pessimism of contemporary economic commentators and politicians, a commitment to full employment is still appropriate.

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9780522848625

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Reviews

"""This is an interesting and thoughtful evaluation of a long-term policy failure in Australia."" --""The Journal of Industrial Relations"""

This is an interesting and thoughtful evaluation of a long-term policy failure in Australia. -- The Journal of Industrial Relations

Author Information

Emeritus Professor Paul Boreham is a former Deputy Director and Director of Research of ISSR (retired July 2012) and was Co-director of the UQ Social Research Centre-a precursor of ISSR. He was also Head of the School of Political Science and International Studies. He has held visiting appointments at the London School of Economics and Political Science, the Organisation & Employment Studies Group at the University of Manchester; the Department of Sociology at Carleton University, Ottawa; the Department of Politics at the University of York and the Centre for European Employment Research at the University of Strathclyde. His research on employment and labour market analysis and social and economic change has been supported by 20 Australian Research Council and 25 other national competitive grants worth in excess of $8million. It has been published in eleven books and more than 120 journal articles, chapters and research reports. Ass Professor Geoff Dow is a Reader in Political Economy and Political Science in the Department of Government at the University of Queensland. Geoff Dow's research has been in the sub-discipline of political economy; it examines the limits and possibilities of politics in the contemporary world. Dr Martin Leet is Senior Research Officer with the Brisbane Institute. He studied political science at the University of Queensland and was awarded a BA (Hons) and PhD.

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