The bottom line I am conscious that this list of priorities may look too encompassing or complicated for those seeking quick fixes or simple solutions or those who sometimes ask at — events such as this is the single most important reform to improve ‘What Australia’s productivity My usual response to that question, and the burden of performance?’. my presentation today, is that there no single thing that can do the job. Indeed, a is policy approach based on such a presumption would be destined for failure. Rather, what is needed is an approach to that embraces both ‘productivity policy’ the drivers and enablers of firm performance, and is consistently applied. That in turn requires policy-making processes that can achieve clarity about problems, reach agreed objectives and ensure the proper testing of proposed solutions (including on the and with those most affected). The beneficial and enduring ‘detail’ structural reforms of the 1980s and 1990s are testimony to the value of these fundamentals. Good process in policy formulation is accordingly the most important thing of all on the do if we are serious about securing ‘to list’, Australia’s future productivity and the prosperity that depends on it.
The bottom line I am conscious that this list of priorities may look too encompassing or complicated for those seeking quick fixes or simple solutions — or those who sometimes ask at events such as this ‘What is the single most important reform to improve Australia’s productivity performance?’. My usual response to that question, and the burden of my presentation today, is that there is no single thing that can do the job. Indeed, a policy approach based on such a presumption would be destined for failure. Rather, what is needed is an approach to ‘productivity policy’ that embraces both the drivers and enablers of firm performance, and is consistently applied. That in turn requires policy-making processes that can achieve clarity about problems, reach agreed objectives and ensure the proper testing of proposed solutions (including on the ‘detail’ and with those most affected). The beneficial and enduring structural reforms of the 1980s and 1990s are testimony to the value of these fundamentals. Good process in policy formulation is accordingly the most important thing of all on the ‘to do list’, if we are serious about securing Australia’s future productivity and the prosperity that depends on it.
productivity-policies.docx