Research Evaluation Down Under: An Outsider's View from the Inside of the Australian Approach |
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| Authors: | Harry Bloch |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Australia;2. Harry Bloch has been Professor of Economics at Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Australia since 1997. He has previously held academic positions at the University of Tasmania (Australia), University of Denver (USA), University of Manitoba (Canada), University of British Columbia (Canada), and Illinois Institute of Technology (USA) and has also been a visiting faculty member at Queen's University (Canada), the University of Warwick (UK), University of East Anglia (UK), Australian National University, University of Lancaster (UK), University of Liverpool (UK), and the University of California at Santa Barbara (USA). His main research interests are industrial pricing, international trade, economic development, productivity analysis, and dynamic competition. His recent work has concentrated on the movement of real prices of primary commodities in the long run and on the development of a theory of the firm that encompasses evolutionary change. The author has benefitted from the comments of three anonymous referees and from participants at the workshop, Assessing Heterodox Economics in a European Context. Helpful comments on an earlier version and help in researching the topic were also received from John King, Peter Kriesler, Fred Lee, Stan Metcalfe, Paul Miller, and Alex Millmow, but they bear no responsibility for any errors or omissions. The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and do not represent those of the Australian Research Council or any other organization with which the author is affiliated. Professor Bloch may be contacted at the Centre for Research in Applied Economics, School of Economics and Finance, Curtin University of Technology, GPO Box U1987, Perth WA 6845, Australia, E‐mail: |
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| Abstract: | ![]()
Australia is currently undertaking its first national evaluation of university research, which is being performed by the Australian Research Council (ARC) at the request of the Australian government. The Australian approach to evaluation has some unique characteristics, especially a focus on evaluating research quantity and quality by the field of the research activity rather than by individual academic or administrative unit. This raises issues of the classification of areas of research, which has already caused controversy for Australian heterodox economists. There is also controversy about the quality rankings of economics journals. This article provides a critical review of the Australian approach to research evaluation and discusses the implications for heterodox economists. |
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