Private activities and government regulatory actions or inaction can have impacts on the environment and on human health. Scientific uncertainty about such impacts compounds the problems that confront policymakers. In environmental and natural resource management areas subject to scientific uncertainty, policy development can be enhanced by clarifying precautionary decision making processes, and the role of...

Gambling is a part of Australian life and many people derive enjoyment from it. But a minority of Australians (and their families) suffer considerable anguish and hardship - more akin to the experience with alcohol. A balanced industry and policy environment must therefore take both sides of the equation into account, according to the chair...

This roundtable examined the policy implications of behavioural economics – a relatively new field that applies insights from psychology to economic issues and analysis. Participants discussed the contribution that behavioural economics can make to a broader understanding of people’s motivation and behaviour in markets and the implications for policy and regulatory approaches. Behavioural economics has...

This roundtable explored the application of behavioural economics to public policy development and addressed two main questions: how do behavioural economic insights help policy makers achieve given policy goals more effectively; and can the findings of behavioural economics be used to support or justify a particular policy goal?

This research paper assesses the financial performance of 85 federal, state and territory government trading enterprises. It forms part of the commission's research into the performance of Australian industries and the progress of microeconomic reform.