Research Training, Scientists, Mobility and Innovation: enhancing comparative methodologies. The collaboration will facilitate transfer of research value mapping (RVM) methods and technologies from a leading US centre into Australia. The RVM program focus on university-business collaboration will orient future collaborative projects and analyses. This will enhance the state-of-the-art of research evaluation in Australia over time. Extension of the CIs unique survey database will incorporate comp ....Research Training, Scientists, Mobility and Innovation: enhancing comparative methodologies. The collaboration will facilitate transfer of research value mapping (RVM) methods and technologies from a leading US centre into Australia. The RVM program focus on university-business collaboration will orient future collaborative projects and analyses. This will enhance the state-of-the-art of research evaluation in Australia over time. Extension of the CIs unique survey database will incorporate comparative dimensions into research value mapping. A focus on Australian respondents in the international database (n=1300) will lead to analyses that inform science policy and scientist human resource development in Australia. This will provide a deeper understanding of Australia’s science role in the Asia Pacific region.Read moreRead less
Advancing the Ecological Footprint for Application to Policy Development. To be effective, policies that promote Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) must operate at many levels. For example, it is of little consequence if individual consumers are empowered to achieve greater sustainability but the capability of corporations and governments to do so remains limited. Our carefully chosen industry collaborations will ensure that effective environmental policy development can be implemented a ....Advancing the Ecological Footprint for Application to Policy Development. To be effective, policies that promote Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) must operate at many levels. For example, it is of little consequence if individual consumers are empowered to achieve greater sustainability but the capability of corporations and governments to do so remains limited. Our carefully chosen industry collaborations will ensure that effective environmental policy development can be implemented at the global, national, state and corporate level. This will allow us, as a nation, to better protect the resources upon which the environment and the economy rely. This research will also allow Australia to be a world leader in the implementation of sustainable development.Read moreRead less
Economic Analyses of Competitor Collaboration: Theory, Evidence, and Policy Implications. Several industries in Australia (eg. airlines, banking, telecommunications) exhibit some common characteristics: few big firms, with significant market power, selling differentiated products. Given the level of market concentration in these industries, mergers are unlikely to improve welfare. However, is the same true for collaborations on value-creating activities? What decisions, if any, should any two fi ....Economic Analyses of Competitor Collaboration: Theory, Evidence, and Policy Implications. Several industries in Australia (eg. airlines, banking, telecommunications) exhibit some common characteristics: few big firms, with significant market power, selling differentiated products. Given the level of market concentration in these industries, mergers are unlikely to improve welfare. However, is the same true for collaborations on value-creating activities? What decisions, if any, should any two firms be allowed to collaborate on? What are their effects on rival firms and consumers? The project will develop the first unifying framework to address these questions. Our research findings are expected to assist the competition policymakers in comprehensively assessing the welfare impacts of competitor collaborationsRead moreRead less
Analysis of the Global Price Competitiveness of Tourism with particular reference to Australia. Price competitiveness is a key determinant of tourism flows, and this project will measure and explain global patterns in competitiveness. Building on earlier work by the investigators, it will expand the measures of competitiveness and develop a new method for measuring competitiveness in package tourism. Cross country differences in industry productivity are a primary reason why competitiveness di ....Analysis of the Global Price Competitiveness of Tourism with particular reference to Australia. Price competitiveness is a key determinant of tourism flows, and this project will measure and explain global patterns in competitiveness. Building on earlier work by the investigators, it will expand the measures of competitiveness and develop a new method for measuring competitiveness in package tourism. Cross country differences in industry productivity are a primary reason why competitiveness differs; productivity will be measured using input and output prices. Patterns in productivity will be analysed, and the hypothesis that productivity varies inversely with real incomes, observed in other service industries, will be tested.Read moreRead less
Maximising diffusion of innovative products on public infrastructure projects: A qualitative management study of open innovation systems. Australia's infrastructure in water, energy, health, education, transport and communication is the platform for our future prosperity and growth. In response to an identified deficit, Australian governments are embarking on major investment programs. Our ability to deliver these programs efficiently and effectively relies heavily on the promotion of innovation ....Maximising diffusion of innovative products on public infrastructure projects: A qualitative management study of open innovation systems. Australia's infrastructure in water, energy, health, education, transport and communication is the platform for our future prosperity and growth. In response to an identified deficit, Australian governments are embarking on major investment programs. Our ability to deliver these programs efficiently and effectively relies heavily on the promotion of innovation in the delivery phase. This study contributes to this major challenge by identifying how diffusion of innovative products can be maximised on infrastructure projects, focusing on knowledge flows within open innovation systems. The study will provide tools to optimise delivery of a world-class and integrated infrastructure network to meet Australia's future social and economic needs.Read moreRead less
Driving Innovation: Mixing, Matching and Transforming Knowledge-Intensive Services into Innovation. The principal aim of the project is to elucidate the ways in which firms mix and match internally and externally provided knowledge intensive services to build the capability and competences needed for sustained innovation. By investigating an area of innovation largely overlooked by international and Australian analysts, the project aims to provide policy makers with substantial analytical and em ....Driving Innovation: Mixing, Matching and Transforming Knowledge-Intensive Services into Innovation. The principal aim of the project is to elucidate the ways in which firms mix and match internally and externally provided knowledge intensive services to build the capability and competences needed for sustained innovation. By investigating an area of innovation largely overlooked by international and Australian analysts, the project aims to provide policy makers with substantial analytical and empirical insights as the basis for more effective industrial development strategy. The project is rooted and develops from parallel work by 12 OECD countries to provide unequalled access for Australian policymakers to comparative data from many of Australia's partner nations.Read moreRead less
Partial equity ownership and knowledge transfer: An economic analysis of strategic alliances. Since 1997, 5462 cases of equity strategic alliances have been identified within Australia. In 2003, the ACCC rejected a proposal by Qantas and Air New Zealand to enter into such an alliance on the grounds that it would be highly anti-competitive. Under what conditions should the Government allow or prevent the formation of equity strategic alliances? Under what circumstances can such alliances benefit ....Partial equity ownership and knowledge transfer: An economic analysis of strategic alliances. Since 1997, 5462 cases of equity strategic alliances have been identified within Australia. In 2003, the ACCC rejected a proposal by Qantas and Air New Zealand to enter into such an alliance on the grounds that it would be highly anti-competitive. Under what conditions should the Government allow or prevent the formation of equity strategic alliances? Under what circumstances can such alliances benefit consumers and society? This project addresses these questions by systematically exploring the link between equity ownership and knowledge transfer. It will contribute to the effective operation of the Australian economy by proposing comprehensive guidelines for antitrust agencies to analyse welfare consequences of equity strategic alliances.Read moreRead less
Balancing the risk of harm with productivity in the mercurial firm: economic theory and applications to Australian policy. Australia has had at least one significant chemical spill per month for the last 30 years. While the Longford disaster fades from the news, James Hardy's asbestos problem fills its place. This project will develop a general conceptual framework in which to analyse the economics of risky firms. The framework will be used to evaluate Australian, International, and alternative ....Balancing the risk of harm with productivity in the mercurial firm: economic theory and applications to Australian policy. Australia has had at least one significant chemical spill per month for the last 30 years. While the Longford disaster fades from the news, James Hardy's asbestos problem fills its place. This project will develop a general conceptual framework in which to analyse the economics of risky firms. The framework will be used to evaluate Australian, International, and alternative policies. The end benefit to Australia will be an improvement in policy toward firms that cause accidents.Read moreRead less
An Economic Analysis of Bankruptcy and Financial Reorganization in Australia. We examine the question of whether the new Australian bankruptcy law is too lenient on firms in financial trouble. We will assemble detailed economic data on a large number of bankrupt firms and use the data to measure the performance of the Australian bankruptcy system. The outcome will be a more complete understanding of how bankruptcy law saves viable firms and eliminates inefficient firms. The project will assist p ....An Economic Analysis of Bankruptcy and Financial Reorganization in Australia. We examine the question of whether the new Australian bankruptcy law is too lenient on firms in financial trouble. We will assemble detailed economic data on a large number of bankrupt firms and use the data to measure the performance of the Australian bankruptcy system. The outcome will be a more complete understanding of how bankruptcy law saves viable firms and eliminates inefficient firms. The project will assist policy-makers designing bankruptcy law. The national benefit will be a bankruptcy system that balances the need to give innovating entrepreneurs a second chance against the danger of
encouraging too many unprofitable firms to limp on and waste
resources.Read moreRead less
Reconceptualising industry sector development within the contemporary Australian city: The case of the information technology sector. This project will aim to uncover the reasons why Australia's Information Technology industry is ranked low among OECD countries by evaluating the impact of global and urban geography of the sector on the sector's performance. It will show how policies to achieve more advanced IT sector development need to consider Australia's distinctive position in the global eco ....Reconceptualising industry sector development within the contemporary Australian city: The case of the information technology sector. This project will aim to uncover the reasons why Australia's Information Technology industry is ranked low among OECD countries by evaluating the impact of global and urban geography of the sector on the sector's performance. It will show how policies to achieve more advanced IT sector development need to consider Australia's distinctive position in the global economy and particular factors in the Sydney and Melbourne IT clusters that both help, and hinder, development in ways not considered in present policy models.Read moreRead less