This annotated bibliography aims to summarise many of the themes to which Jon Altman, foundation director of the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, has dedicated his career to date.

Abstract


\u27Engaging Indigenous Economy: A Selected Annotated Bibliography of Jon Altman’s Writings 1979–2014\u27 is published in conjunction with the conference ‘Engaging Indigenous economy: Debating diverse approaches’, convened at the Australian National University, 4–5 September 2014. The publication and conference coincide with Jon Altman’s retirement from the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR), where he was foundation director from 1990 to 2010. The annotated bibliography aims to summarise many of the themes to which Altman has dedicated his career to date, and is designed to be a navigational tool for paper presenters, conference delegates and others wishing to engage with Altman’s work.

The bibliography was written in conversation with Jon Altman and is structured around the six conference themes selected by conveners Kirrily Jordan, Tim Rowse and Will Sanders to reflect Altman’s writings: comparative modern hunter–gatherer studies; economic hybridity and alternate development; employment and labour markets; land rights and native title; sustainable land-based indigenous livelihoods; and neoliberalism or the return of the guardian state?

The bibliography has its basis in an earlier publication, The Hybrid Economy Topic Guide, prepared by Susie Russell as an element of the Australian Research Council Discovery project ‘Hybrid economic futures for remote Indigenous Australia: Linking poverty reduction and natural resource management’. In looking to update this topic guide in early 2014, a decision was made to considerably extend its coverage to encompass a far wider selection of Altman’s published research.

Given the breadth of Altman’s research over a long career, it has not been possible to include all of his published work; however, the bibliography covers a large proportion of his written contribution. Classification of works according to the conference themes has required judgments, as many publications could be allocated to more than one theme. The authors have sought to address the challenge of some inevitable arbitrary judgment by developing a set of keywords for each annotated item