Since the 1970s the average level of unemployment in Australia has risen each decade. This has imposed huge economic, social and human costs, making unemployment one of the most pressing problems confronting Australia. This book argues that the current approaches of wage cuts and labor market flexibility will not solve the unemployment problem. Rather, the main solution is not wage cuts but job growth. This important book points to a way beyond the current policy malaise and offers detailed solutions to unemployment.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) led a fairly conservative existence until the early 1980s when the economy experienced waves of financial market deregulation and general economic liberalization. This book tells the story of monetary policy and the political role of the Reserve Bank over the past two decades. It reveals how the bank has been used as a "political football," describes conflicts with the government and the Department of Treasury, and how the bank finally adjusted to political turmoil and managed to assert a level of independence in the 1990s.

Several problems plague contemporary thinking about governance. From the multiple definitions that are often vague and confusing, to the assumption that governance strategies, networks and markets represent attempts by weakening states to maintain control. Rethinking Governance questions this view and seeks to clarify how we understand governance. Arguing that it is best understood as 'the strategies used by governments to help govern', the authors counter the view that governments have been decentred. They show that far from receding, states are in fact enhancing their capacity to govern by...