Engaging the New World

Responses to the Knowledge Economy

Bhajan S. Grewal and Margarita Kumnick (eds)

In Engaging the New World leading economic analysts discuss the wide-ranging impact of the information economy-on education, agriculture, health care, pharmaceuticals, public finance and regional economies.

About this Title

The global knowledge economy has fundamentally transformed economies around the world. The sharp decline in full-time employment, the relationships between joblessness and poverty, and the inadequacy of retirement incomes are just some of the issues it has created.

In Engaging the New World leading economic analysts discuss the wide-ranging impact of the information economy--on education, agriculture, health care, pharmaceuticals, public finance and regional economies. These issues, critical to national and global economic policy today, are explored with the aim of stimulating the development of appropriate policies for the future.

With contributions from prominent Australian and international economists including Bob Gregory, Ann Harding, Frank Lichtenberg, Simon Marginson, William Melody, John Quiggin and Peter Saunders, Engaging the New World: Responses to the Knowledge Economy is published as a tribute to the work of Peter Sheehan. It reflects his outstanding contribution to public discourse in Australia as a researcher, writer, leader and adviser to governments.

Chapters are available for purchase as downloadable PDF files at the MUP e-store. web.mup.unimelb.edu.au

Table of Contents

Editor's Introduction by Bhajan Grewal

Biographical Introduction by Robert Fordham, Former Deputy Premier of Victoria

GLOBAL KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY:
1. Preparing to Govern in the Knowledge Economy by William H. Melody
2. Rethinking the Economics of Education: The Public/Private Divide in Higher Education by Simon Marginson
3. Ending Failure in our Schools: The Challenges for Public Sector Management and Higher Education by Richard Teese
4. Australian Agriculture in the Knowledge Economy by Ainsley Jolley
5. The Role of University in China's National Innovation System: In Search of a New Role? by Lan Xue
6. Research Practices and Scholarly Communication in the Digital Environment by John W. Houghton, Colin Steele and Margaret Henty

HEALTH CARE AND PHARMACEUTICALS:
7. The Benefits to Society of New Drugs: A Survey of the Econometric Evidence by Frank R. Lichtenberg
8. Five Observations on Financing Health Care by John Quiggin
9. Innovation and Industry Structure in the Biomedical Industry: Role of Alliances by Bruce Rasmussen
10. The Social Reality of Health by Mark Sheehan
11. Australian Pharmaceutical Pricing in a Global Context: Trends and Issues by Kim Sweeny

EMPLOYMENT, RETIREMENT AND WELFARE:
12. A Perennial Problem: Employment, Joblessness and Poverty by Peter Saunders
13. More Unemployed People Find Jobs in Recessions than in Booms by Robert Dixon
14. Back to the Future, Yet Again? Revisiting Interactions between Male Full-time Job Loss and the Australian Welfare System by Robert G. Gregory
15. Retirement Incomes and Australia's Ageing Population by Simon Kelly and Ann Harding
16. The Welfare of Women: The Case of Northern Ireland by Vani K. Borooah

PUBLIC FINANCE AND REGIONAL ECONOMIES:
17. Finance for Development by John Langmore
18. Budget Management Reform in China by Jim Brumby
19. A Review of the Microfinance Movement in China by Enjiang Cheng
20. Reflections on Government Business Reform in Australia by Paul Moy
21. Productivity, Participation and Population in the Australian States by Peter Crossman, Gudrun Meyer-Boehm and Antony Skinner
22. Regional Disparities: A Continuing Policy Challenge for China by Bhajan Grewal and Fiona Fanghong Sun
23. Sense and Nonsense in Government Accrual Accounting and Budgeting Systems by Allan Barton

About the Author

Bhajan Grewal is Professorial Fellow, Centre for Strategic Economic Studies, Victoria University, and Visiting Professor, Shanxi University of Finance and Economics, Tai Yuan, China