The Accountability and Independence of the Auditors-General of Australia: A Comparison of their Enabling Legislation

This paper compares the enabling legislation of the nine auditors-general of Australia from perspectives of public-sector accountability and auditor independence. Following on from the Joint Committee of Public Accounts (JCPA) 1989 and 1996 reports, and in particular English and Guthrie (2000), this study finds general similarities in the enabling legislation for all auditors-general, and striking similarities between the legislation of the commonwealth and Victoria. The policy implications of this study's findings are that for all auditors-general provisions in their enabling legislation could be further strengthened     

The joint determination of ‘Quality’ and price in standardized products: A comparative dynamic analysis

Every supermarket provides many examples of attempts lo develop more economical standardized products which will attract additional customers while guaranteeing the user that the quantity will be acceptable. We assume this process involves development costs incurred in reducing the amount incorporated in a monopoly product of its dominant product-characteristic. A comparative dynamic analysis is used to explore the search for lower prices and higher output. The heightened vulnerability of the firm to market forces and some policy implications of the analysis are brought out.     

ANALYSIS OF RANGELAND DEGRADATION USING STOCHASTIC DYNAMIC PROGRAMMING

Degradation of arid rangeland, and efforts to control that degradation, have become topical issues. However, the inherent characteristics of the rangeland, and the intertemporal nature of the problem, complicate the analysis of degradation issues in the search for more appropriate rangeland policies. Stochastic dynamic programming is examined as one means of allowing for those complexities. Using the case of the Queensland mulga rangelands, optimal stocking rates are shown to rise with lower property sizes, higher discount rates, higher wool prices and declining risk aversion. Importantly, the analysis reveals that a strategy of high stocking rates with the potential for rangeland degradation is an optimal response to the economic and social factors that confront graziers and is not an intertemporal information problem alone.     

The IMF's food financing facility: Much ado about nothing

In May 1981 the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced its decision to extend compensatory financing assistance to members encountering balance of payments difficulties caused by increased cereal import costs. At the time, the Food Financing Facility was welcomed as a significant step towards providing a more adequate level of world food security. Since its establishment, only limited use has been made of the facility and the Director-General of the FAO commented recently that ‘it needs to be improved’.     

Rethinking the role of the service sector in local economic revitalisation

This article evaluates the role of the service sector in revitalising local economies. Using case study evidence from the Fens, the view that services are “parasitic” activities is refuted. Instead, services are shown to contribute positively to local economic rejuvenation not only as “basic” activities which bring income into local economies from outside but also, just as importantly, as locally-oriented activities which stop income from leaking out of the locality. The consequences of this reconceptualisation of services for the nature of local economic policy are addressed.