Answer three questions in approx. 800-850 (total 2500 words plus or minus 10%)
Start each answer on a separate page.
1. Discuss the usefulness of the concept of ‘path dependency’ demonstrating its usefulness for explaining Australia’s history of institutional continuity and change. In your answer discuss three examples of how the concept can be applied.
2. Explain the role of the Fair Work Commission in regulating the Australian labour market.
3. Outline and discuss the role of the Commonwealth Constitution in setting the framework for the regulation of transport and communications in the Australian economy?
4. What impact has deregulation had on the rural sector over recent decades? Include a discussion as to whether you believe micro-economic reform has been, on balance, positive or negative in two rural industries.
5. Given that Australia has shifted to service-oriented production of about 70% of GDP (with only about 26% from the industrial sector), what implications would further tariff reductions have for Australia’s manufacturing sector?
6. Discuss the changes in, and structure of the Australian financial system that led to the deregulation of the financial system in the 1980s.
7. Discuss the importance of national competition policy since 1995 and the role of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
8. It has been argued that poor prudential regulation in both the US and UK led to the global financial crisis. Evaluate the importance of the Wallis reforms of the 1990s, and discuss to what degree, if any, these reforms shielded Australia from the worst of banking “excesses”.
9. To what degree does the ‘information revolution’ circumvent domestic media regulation? In your answer, discuss the role of the ACMA and evaluate its effectiveness.
10. Given the WTO’s commitment to the most-favoured-nation principle of non-discrimination, why do bilateral trade agreements continue to proliferate? In your answer, evaluate whether such agreements strengthen or weaken the international trading system?