https://hdl.handle.net/2123/5675 2026-06-17T12:00:35Z 2026-06-17T12:00:35Z Chester, Lynne https://hdl.handle.net/2123/32110 2026-04-22T04:53:11Z 2024-01-19T00:00:00Z

Australia's National Electricity Market: Bidding rules, market power and wholesale electricity prices Chester, Lynne Wholesale prices for the generation of electricity markedly increased in 2022 and 2023. These costs, the most significant component of the final electricity price paid by consumers, were estimated, by the Australian Energy Regulator, to be 30-40% of a typical residential bill in 2022-2023 and 50-60% in 2023-2024. This substantive rise has been driven by increases in wholesale charges of up to 68% in 2023-2024 and follow increases of up to nearly 50% the previous financial year. These wholesale price increases have been driven by: • Generation companies exercising market power through the supply bidding and rebidding rules governing Australia’s National Electricity Market, and • Generation companies negotiating contracts in the parallel markets for financial contracts which inform the prices these companies bid to supply generation capacity. The Australian Energy Market Commission, and affirmed by the Australian Energy Regulator, interprets the National Electricity Law—that underpins the market’s bidding and rebidding rules—as permitting the transient (temporary) exercise of market power not sustained market power over a period of time. These two regulators, which administer the National Electricity Rules (NER) and review the performance of the National Electricity Market (NEM) respectively, are not transparent about their definitions of ‘transient’, ‘sustained’, or ‘period of time’. Market power is market power, transient or sustained. The exercise of market power, over any period, produces outcomes contrary to a competitive market which is supposed to yield the lowest possible prices for consumers. The NEM was purportedly designed to be a competitive market. It is a market, however, with high concentrations of generation capacity across all its regions which make it fertile ground for uncompetitive behaviour. The vulnerability of the NEM to market power, and its persistence since the NEM commenced in December 1998, has been recognised by regulators, market participants and all Australian governments. Changes have been made to the NEM’s supply bidding and rebidding rules and new forms of market performance monitoring have been implemented. Yet these have not prevented the record increases in wholesale electricity prices during recent years. Bidding behaviour to supply generation capacity, in conjunction with the speculative behaviour of generation companies in the financial contract markets about future electricity prices in the NEM, present exemplary evidence of ongoing price gouging and unfair pricing practices.

2024-01-19T00:00:00Z Chester, Lynne https://hdl.handle.net/2123/32109 2026-04-22T04:53:11Z 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z

The Impacts and Consequences for Low-income Australian Households of Rising Energy Prices Chester, Lynne There is limited understanding of the impacts and consequences for low-income households of the substantive increases in household energy prices since mid-2007. The average increase in Australian household electricity prices from 2007 to 2013 was nearly 83% with the highest experienced by NSW households (108%) and the lowest average increase for those living in the ACT (71%). This study provides a substantive evidence base of the lived experiences of low-income households as a result of rapidly rising household energy bills. The study comprised: an online survey completed by 372 respondents across Australia during the period 1 February to 30 November 2012; and, focus groups and interviews conducted with 130 participants in the capital city and a regional centre of the four most populous States during October and November 2012. There has been anecdotal reporting by the media, welfare agencies, community organisations and charities of the deleterious effects of rising energy prices. The findings of this study indicate the nature of these damaging effects is widespread and systemic. The well-being, health and lifestyle of low-income Australian households are suffering from the cumulative effects of ever-increasing electricity bills over a sustained period of many years which has compounded the circumstances of these vulnerable households. Never or rarely leaving home, using only one room, shorter (or occasionally, no) showers, watching less television, going to bed fully clothed (or early) to avoid the use of heating, families using a common sleeping room when cold, rarely having friends or extended family at home to avoid using cooking appliances and/or the room temperature being uncomfortable – these are some of the ‘strategies’ that low-income households have adopted to ‘manage’ their energy use as they endeavour to control the size of bills. These actions are far more extreme than the commonly promulgated measures to improve household energy efficiency. As a result of cutting expenditure on essentials such as food and reallocating expenditure on other items to be able to pay energy bills, and making relatively severe changes in household practices to reduce the size of energy bills, these households are suffering physical discomfort, reduced physical and mental well-being, loneliness and social isolation, strains within household relationships, and distress about the social and emotional well-being of children. The awareness of energy efficiency measures is strong and nearly all households have tried to reduce their energy use in response to rising energy bills. Barriers to further reductions in energy consumption are no financial capacity to afford energy saving appliances or household repairs/improvements (which is most problematic for renters), the need for health-related use of heating and cooling and life support equipment, and the presence of children. Households are loathe to cut heating or cooling too much in case it affects the health of children or exacerbates existing health vulnerabilities. The dominant policy measure to assist low-income households with energy bills are rebates, concessions and temporary financial assistance provided by State and Territory governments, generally as an absolute amount (lump sum) rather than a proportion of a household energy bill as is the case only in Victoria. More subtly, this assistance shifts the problem to one of poor financial management and individual (lack of) responsibility. At least 2.3 million low-income households are regularly receiving some form of State Government concession or rebate on their electricity bill. Yet all States record a higher proportion of residential consumers being disconnected for non-payment of bills in 2011-12 compared to 2007-08 which strongly signals the increasing ineffectiveness of these measures. Access to assistance measures requires self-identification and hence the need for information. Yet many eligible households are ignorant of programs because they do not have internet access where information is most commonly provided, mobile phone costs and call waiting times prohibit them making contact with an energy supplier, or communication difficulties are experienced when contact is made which leads to frustration and an unwillingness by the household to spend further time trying to engage with their energy company. Payment plans and hardship policies are further types of assistance for households experiencing energy hardship. Under the new, and partially implemented, National Energy Customer Framework (NECF) energy retailers are required to implement customer hardship programs which are generally framed around payment arrangements for energy bills owing, ongoing use and the avoidance of disconnection. Households who have used such plans to date generally consider the payments were unaffordable, being set too high and not reflecting their capacity to pay. Overall, the study’s findings pose a number of critical issues for government and policymakers. There is strong evidence of the inability of low-income households to become more energy efficient. Effort to reduce household energy use is widespread but has been highly concentrated on low-cost practices like the installation of low-energy light bulbs. The barriers to reducing energy consumption mean the scope for further – and substantive – improvements in the energy efficiency of these households are highly constrained. More minor changes to household energy behaviour will not result in sufficiently significant changes being reflected in lower energy bills and will undoubtedly aggravate already diminished levels of health and well-being. There is a problematic relationship between low-income households and energy retailers. This relationship is framed by companies providing customer information on websites, the use of 1300 or 1800 numbers for customers to make telephone contact, and the customer experience encountered when discussing payment difficulties or a payment plan. Nearly 1.5 million low-income households do not have home internet access. From 1 January 2015 calls from mobile phones to an 1800 number will be free. In the meantime, call costs pose a significant barrier to contact and information. The new NECF requires a more proactive approach by energy retailers to assist those likely to experience energy hardship although the success of this approach is as yet unknown. A further critical policy issue is the purpose of energy bill assistance. Current assistance, the monetary value of which varies considerably across Australia, is reactive. Assistance is directed at the bill which is the end-point of household energy use. Thus this assistance does not help low- income households manage their energy use to achieve the maximum possible energy efficiency level for their circumstances. Measures for widespread, long-term improvements to the energy efficiency of housing occupied by low-income households are also non-existent. Energy efficiency measures are limited in scale and focus on household behavioural practices to reduce energy use. The effectiveness of current energy bill assistance would appear questionable given, for example, the increasing rate of residential electricity disconnections and the findings of this study. But to understand the ‘effectiveness’ of current measures will require a systematic evaluation drawing on data which should be held by all Australian Governments even if not publicly released at this time. Nevertheless, such an evaluation would only deal with current reactive measures and not provide preventative or remedial policies; preventative in the sense that low-households are ‘prevented’ from falling into energy hardship and remedial in the sense that households are ‘removed’. Energy hardship is caused by a conjunction of factors – low income, energy prices, the condition of housing, and the capacity to adopt different household practices to manage energy use given its size, composition and needs. Given the current extent of energy hardship, as evidenced by this study, there is a high need for reactive policies – and undoubtedly an improved level of assistance - to continue until preventative and remedial policies are implemented and successively operated for some years. Thus the threshold question for policymakers is whether there is the political will to directly address and eliminate energy hardship or whether the only form of assistance will remain reactive, fragmented and increasingly ineffective.

2013-01-01T00:00:00Z Chester, Lynne https://hdl.handle.net/2123/23503 2020-11-11T00:21:59Z 2020-10-01T00:00:00Z

RETHINKING NEOCLASSICAL ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF ENERGY USING RÉGULATION THEORY Chester, Lynne Energy is treated by Neoclassical Economics as an abstract adjunct to the capitalist economy in the form of inter alia an intermediate production input, a market, a commodity, or the source of production externalities such as air and water pollution. The energy policy prescriptions of Neoclassical Economics, underpinned by econometric and other mathematical techniques, are framed around price, supply and demand, and the deregulation of markets. This paper posits an alternative analytical framework to understanding energy, and its relation to the environment and the capitalist economy. Drawing on French Régulation Theory—informed by Marxian and Institutional Economics—institutions are the focus of inquiry, and the analysis of energy is situated within the context of its use by capitalism, the processes of economic change and the impact of its use on the environment. This approach illuminates the co-constitutive nature of energy, the environment and the accumulation process as capitalism has become increasingly dependent on non-renewable fossil fuels actively supported by nation-states and supra-national institutions. A critical difference between Régulation Theory and Neoclassical Economics, and thus the respective methodologies, is the social ontology underpinning each framework. The worldview of Neoclassical Economics, presupposed by its formalistic methods, is one of a closed economic system in which event regularities occur, events have casual sequence, there are no exogenous influences and thus no social context. The social ontology of Régulation Theory is of the capitalist economy as an open system, structured by conflictual social relations and the process of capital accumulation, and subject to endogenous and exogenous influences. It is posited that this ontological view of social reality leads to a more realistic analysis of energy’s interrelationships with the real economy and the environment compared to the abstract analysis of Neoclassical Economics.

2020-10-01T00:00:00Z Alamyar, Fiona Maree https://hdl.handle.net/2123/17724 2026-04-22T05:25:40Z 2017-10-11T00:00:00Z

Future of Work: Formal rights, collective action and experiences of work within the platform economy Alamyar, Fiona Maree

2017-10-11T00:00:00Z Cotton, Sophie https://hdl.handle.net/2123/17729 2026-04-22T05:25:50Z 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z

Bordering (on) Racism: Migration, Division, and Consent in Australia Cotton, Sophie

2017-01-01T00:00:00Z Graham, John (Sean) https://hdl.handle.net/2123/17725 2026-04-22T05:25:41Z 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z

The Perfect Storm: How Australia Managed to Weather the Global Financial Crisis Graham, John (Sean)

2017-01-01T00:00:00Z Yoo, Kimberley https://hdl.handle.net/2123/17728 2026-04-22T05:25:42Z 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z

Time to rebuild and reaggregate fluctuations: Minsky, complexity and agent-based modelling Yoo, Kimberley

2017-01-01T00:00:00Z Brodzeli, Andrew https://hdl.handle.net/2123/17726 2026-04-22T05:25:42Z 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z

Technics & Transition: Contesting capitalist value relations in the Australian energy sector Brodzeli, Andrew

2017-01-01T00:00:00Z Avila, Jarrod Department of Political Economy https://hdl.handle.net/2123/16653 2026-04-22T05:25:46Z 2017-04-18T00:00:00Z

Elite Localism and Inequality: Understanding affluent community opposition to rail network expansion within the political economy of Sydney. Avila, Jarrod; Department of Political Economy Sydney is a global city experiencing a surge in the expansion of public transport infrastructure. It is an unequal city, with a greater ratio of inequality between suburbs than any other major city in Australia. This state of inequality has a long history. From its historic origins to the present day, the presence and absence of public transport has served to entrench inequality in the city. Those areas with greater access to employment and education tend to be wealthier than those without, and public transportation is a key provider of accessibility and mobility in the city Residents of some of Sydney’s most affluent areas, have fiercely resisted government attempts to extend rail links into these suburbs. These successful actions have led to serious consequences extending beyond the affluent suburbs in question to the city as a whole. This thesis will seek to investigate, identify and understand the phenomena of affluent local opposition to the expansion of rail networks. Submitted as a partial requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Political, Economic and Social Sciences (Honours) Department of Political Economy, University of Sydney, 12th October 2016

2017-04-18T00:00:00Z Williams-Brooks, Llewellyn Department of Political Economy https://hdl.handle.net/2123/16655 2026-04-22T05:25:46Z 2017-04-18T00:00:00Z

Radical theories of capitalism in Australia: Towards a historiography of the Australian New Left Williams-Brooks, Llewellyn; Department of Political Economy It has recently been remarked that people are increasingly disinterested in the study of Australia. Perhaps, as some authors have argued, this is the result of an internationalisation of Australian society, creating a set of global priorities for modern Australians quite different from those of preceding generations. In a world still reeling from the fallout of a Great Recession, making sense of Australia’s place in the world requires some serious reflection. A rapidly changing global context forces us to question the way Australia has been understood and look towards alternative explanations. I suggest that how we think about Australia, and how we apply this knowledge to our reality has significant implications for political action. It is with this impasse in mind that I turn my theoretical focus to the study of the Australian New Left. As I argue, they offer a radical theoretical approach that forces us to reevaluate our understanding of capitalism in Australia and can beneficially contribute to producing alternatives in a contemporary context. Submitted as partial requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (Honours), Political Economy, University of Sydney, 12 October 2016.

2017-04-18T00:00:00Z Sturgess, Hugh Department of Political Economy https://hdl.handle.net/2123/16650 2026-04-22T05:25:43Z 2017-04-18T00:00:00Z

Would a Job Guarantee Guarantee Jobs? An Analysis of the Employer of Last Resort Proposal Sturgess, Hugh; Department of Political Economy Unemployment is a chronic feature of capitalist economies, with a host of related ills such as poverty, personal and economic insecurity and social stigma. In much of the developed world, unemployment has never returned to the low levels present before the mid-1970s, and increasingly insecure and part-time work has replaced permanent, full-time employment. Over two million Australians are either officially unemployed, marginally connected to the labour market but desiring work or are underemployed.The policy referred to here as the Job Guarantee (JG), also known as the Employer of Last Resort and Buffer Stock Employment, is a proposal to address unemployment and underemployment directly, through the provision of a blanket offer of employment at the minimum wage for anyone willing and able to work. This thesis seeks to examine in detail the practicality and desirability of the JG as a solution to the problem of scarce and insecure employment. Honours Thesis: Submitted as partial requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Political, Economic and Social Sciences (Honours), Political Economy, University of Sydney, 12 October 2016

2017-04-18T00:00:00Z Pawson, Isla J Department of Political Economy https://hdl.handle.net/2123/16651 2026-04-22T05:25:46Z 2017-04-18T00:00:00Z

The Political Economy of Australian Housing Policy : Beyond the Vaunted History of Ideas Pawson, Isla J; Department of Political Economy Given the growing presence and multidimensional nature of housing problems in Australia, it is important to critically reflect upon the ways in which scholars have analysed the origins of housing problems and the policies designed to tackle them. In mainstream debates, housing is viewed as a technical problem potentially solved through isolated measures such as better construction technology, fewer planning laws or different zoning regulations. This thesis argues that this view overlooks the systemic character of housing problems, and the forces that shape the state’s policy responses. The thesis combines a number of state-theoretical insights with historical and contemporary investigations of housing policy development, and highlights the importance of using theory to improve strategies for housing reform. Submitted as partial requirement for the degree of Bachelor of International and Global Studies (Honours), Political Economy, University of Sydney, 12 October 2016.

2017-04-18T00:00:00Z Chivers, Carmela Caira https://hdl.handle.net/2123/14442 2026-04-22T05:25:43Z 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z

Keeping it real: experimental game theory and social ontology Chivers, Carmela Caira

2016-01-01T00:00:00Z Baker, Natalie https://hdl.handle.net/2123/14094 2026-04-22T05:25:44Z 2015-10-14T00:00:00Z

Environmental Policy Evaluation: An Interdisciplinary Framework Baker, Natalie

2015-10-14T00:00:00Z Peterson, Nicholas https://hdl.handle.net/2123/14088 2026-04-22T05:25:49Z 2015-10-01T00:00:00Z

Lost in Translation Quantitative Easing, Finance and Household Recovery in the United States Peterson, Nicholas

2015-10-01T00:00:00Z Littleton, Eliza https://hdl.handle.net/2123/14087 2026-04-22T05:25:49Z 2015-10-01T00:00:00Z

Animals in Capital: A Marxist Perspective on the Use of Other Animals in Capitalist Commodity Production Littleton, Eliza

2015-10-01T00:00:00Z Brown, Angus https://hdl.handle.net/2123/14086 2026-04-22T05:25:49Z 2015-10-14T00:00:00Z

Austerity and the State in Australia: A Critique of Ideational Explanations Brown, Angus

2015-10-14T00:00:00Z Rennie, Anna Elisabeth https://hdl.handle.net/2123/14089 2026-04-22T05:25:46Z 2015-10-14T00:00:00Z

Governance in the Eurozone: A Strategic Relational Approach Rennie, Anna Elisabeth

2015-10-14T00:00:00Z Phillippo-Holmes, Joshua https://hdl.handle.net/2123/12802 2026-04-22T05:25:42Z 2014-10-01T00:00:00Z

Poverty Reduction and Governance in the African Periphery: A critical analysis of the World Bank’s Poverty Reduction Strategy in the political economies of sub-Saharan Africa Phillippo-Holmes, Joshua

2014-10-01T00:00:00Z Dall, Erima https://hdl.handle.net/2123/10177 2026-04-22T05:25:46Z 2013-11-13T00:00:00Z

The Australian state and carbon pricing Dall, Erima

2013-11-13T00:00:00Z Reoch, Angus https://hdl.handle.net/2123/10153 2026-04-22T05:25:42Z 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z

The Projected State and Social Order Reoch, Angus

2013-01-01T00:00:00Z Farnham, Daisy https://hdl.handle.net/2123/10140 2026-04-22T05:25:45Z 2013-10-24T00:00:00Z

Workfare, neoliberalism and the welfare state. Towards a historical materialist analysis of Australian workfare Farnham, Daisy

2013-10-24T00:00:00Z Slade-Caffarel, Yannick https://hdl.handle.net/2123/10141 2026-04-22T05:25:41Z 2013-10-16T00:00:00Z

Value is an Institution. The Empire of Value, ontology, and the methodology of economics as a social science Slade-Caffarel, Yannick

2013-10-16T00:00:00Z Hollins, Clare https://hdl.handle.net/2123/10139 2026-04-22T05:25:42Z 2013-10-01T00:00:00Z

Labour Standards and Workers' Rights in the 'Global Factory' Hollins, Clare

2013-10-01T00:00:00Z Jahan, Hosna https://hdl.handle.net/2123/8991 2026-04-22T05:25:44Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Money for Nothing, Re-thinking Women's Empowerment and the Accomplishments of Microfinance in Rural Bangladesh Jahan, Hosna Microfinance Institutions often claim that microfinance is useful not only in alleviating poverty but also as a development tool which empowers women. The impacts of microfinance on empowerment have been studied by many, some of whom have reviewed empowerment not only by looking at repayment, but also by examining the women’s well-being. However, other studies suggest that the various dimensions of well-being (such as mobility, political participation and health awareness) are not a direct result of access to credit or income but rather an indirect result of community development programs that are usually run by the microfinance institutions alongside their credit providing facilities. Thus, many studies suggest, while microfinance may be a useful tool to alleviate women out of poverty but empowerment is an issue that needs to be addressed differently. Empowerment, in this view, requires incorporating women’s agency. However, in traditional societies like Bangladesh, the present character of women’s agency is one of the causes of their disempowerment. The existing social structure and the century-long gender disparities distort the view of what women really value. Thus, I argue that empowerment cannot be achieved only via exercising agency, but it needs to question the existing power relations and social structures. On this reasoning empowerment requires critical agency. By examining Bangladeshi women’s identity, social structure and agency this thesis inspects how social structures, existing power relations and agency play out in the context of empowerment. I argue that the microfinance institutions need to challenge the existing social structures and power relations rather than build on them. Moreover, the idea of critical agency needs to be incorporated in their community development programs to play an effective role in women’s empowerment and development. Looking at microfinance institutions in this broader context shows more clearly the limited role they play in the process of women’s empowerment.

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Bundey, Freya https://hdl.handle.net/2123/8995 2026-04-22T05:25:44Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

'Never had it so good'? The Concealed Costs of Financial Exposure Bundey, Freya

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Rogers, Katren https://hdl.handle.net/2123/8996 2026-04-22T05:25:50Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Vouchers Reconsidered - The marketisation of education and prospects for social democratic reform Rogers, Katren

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Sherab, Domenique https://hdl.handle.net/2123/8993 2026-04-22T05:25:41Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Freedom and Faith in Neoliberal Capitalism: The Fantasy of the American Dream Sherab, Domenique

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Petrova, Ioulia https://hdl.handle.net/2123/8992 2026-04-22T05:25:42Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Aid-for-Trade: the Way Forward for Development? Petrova, Ioulia The failure to eradicate poverty through trade-induced economic growth over a number of decades raises questions about the latest initiative: Aid-for-trade. After examining whether the initiative signifies a new paradigm for achieving development, this thesis employs an empirical analysis of the East Asian region with a particular focus on Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam to find no clear relationship between Aid-for-trade flows and measures of development even for individual sectors in these countries. It is concluded that this is due to Aid-for-trade flows being designed to maximise the donor’s economic and political position rather than the recipient’s development.

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Gilliland, Mathew Andrew https://hdl.handle.net/2123/8259 2026-04-22T05:25:44Z 2011-10-17T00:00:00Z

The Debate on Excess Capacity, Issues of Competition and Time Gilliland, Mathew Andrew There has been a great deal of soul-­‐searching in the economic community over the past few years. Economists of varying stripes have begun to question the academic and business paradigm which is the orthodox approach to economics. Questions of capital theory, of method, of normative philosophy are being reconsidered as the community questions the wisdom of the textbooks of Dornbusch and Bernanke, the truisms of Solow on growth and Friedman on financial markets, the intellectual sons of the marginalist revolution. The public and policymakers alike are also searching for alternatives, with proposals of a Tobin tax across Europe and occupations of Wall Street the most striking recent examples. Without doubt, the global financial crisis has done far more than simply cut the hair of the Samson of international finance, it has forced the jaws of orthodox economists to clamp down on Eve’s apple and awaken, naked and impure, outside the ivory walls and locked gates of Eden. They now lie, castrate, amongst the intellectual barrenness and moral decrepitude which was neoclassical economics. If they can open their eyes, they will see there are many rich traditions of heterodox thought which have persisted outside the bastions of economic Eden. These are not built from invisible hands, and they do not need to assume full employment or abstract from that which they do not understand to work. The theoretical underpinnings of these approaches are methodologically Babylonian, not Cartesian, and thus sustain themselves on more than just axioms (Dow, 1996). The insights of Keynes (1936), Robinson (1941), Steindl (1952), Sraffa (1960), Kalecki (1971), Marx (1971), Amadeo (1986a), White (1996), Missaglia (2007), Arestis and Sawyer (2009b), and Moudud (2010) are but a few authors whose contribution to understanding the phenomenon and implications of excess capacity cannot be understated. It would be a travesty of morality and justice for the Department of Political Economy at this University to be closed, amalgamated out, or in any other way undermined, because if there is one thing which the past few years 10 of economic experience and this body work shares in common, it is that pluralism leads to a better, greater, and more fruitful understanding. I pray the University makes the right decision.

2011-10-17T00:00:00Z Latty, Kieran https://hdl.handle.net/2123/8260 2026-04-22T05:25:49Z 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Income distribution, growth and social-welfare: towards an economic solution to the growth-equality trade-off problem Latty, Kieran This thesis assesses the social-welfare implications of modifications to the post transfer distribution of income, in the context of welfare maximising policy design. Both the inequality-distributional efficiency and inequality-growth relationship are assessed. An Atkinson social welfare function is employed in a novel fashion to model the inequality distributional efficiency relationship, including direct effects that result from the concavity of the personal utility function, and external losses operating via positional income effects. This analysis produces estimates of the social welfare losses from inequality across a data set of 137 countries, where the unweighted average of total losses is found to be equivalent to be 47% of GNI. The equality-growth relationship is analysed from the standpoint of both endogenous growth theory and post-Keynesian theories of demand and investment. The relationships between the functional and personal distribution of income and key macroeconomic variables including the rate of savings, and physical and human capital accumulation are assessed. Crucially, these relationships are found to be highly modifiable by economic policy and structural reform, and in theory, no growth–equality trade off need exist. On the contrary, equality may be growth promoting at moderate to high inequality levels. Combined with the large static welfare losses from inequality uncovered in this analysis, the welfare optimum level of inequality is likely to be close to the level associated with distributional efficiency maximisation. This is likely to be a very low level of inequality in comparison to existing levels in most countries and regions, and large welfare losses result from levels of inequality significantly above this level. Honours Thesis: Submitted as partial requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (Honours), Political Economy, University of Sydney, 2011. 2 This work contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university, and to the best of my knowledge and belief, this thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due references is made in the text of the thesis.

2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Kaldor, Thomas https://hdl.handle.net/2123/8261 2026-04-22T05:25:45Z 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

The Contradiction of Concentration A Critical Evaluation of Australian Merger Law Kaldor, Thomas

2009-01-01T00:00:00Z Ang, Amanda https://hdl.handle.net/2123/8262 2026-04-22T05:25:46Z 2011-10-10T00:00:00Z

The Political Economy of Corruption Indexes Ang, Amanda Corruption indexes, such as the Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index and the World Bank’s Control of Corruption indicator, have played a pivotal role in focusing global attention on corruption. Since they came into existence, these indexes have been influential on research and investigations into corruption. Aid donors have also relied extensively on these indexes to determine the allocation of aid to developing countries. Despite the intense anti-corruption initiatives over the past decade, corruption still remains one of the greatest stumbling blocks for sustainable development. The lack of success of these anti-corruption initiatives has cast significant doubts on the contemporary mainstream perspective on corruption. In this thesis, I examine the underlying concepts and theoretical assumptions of the mainstream approach to corruption which has its roots in neoclassical economics. It defines corruption as bribery and views it as a rent-seeking behaviour. I argue that this understanding of corruption is too narrow and does not reflect the realities of corruption. A more appropriate framework draws on the insights of institutionalism. Focusing on the institutional structures and its violation in its analysis, this alternative defines corruption as the subversion of institutions and rules of an organisation or society which results in the corrosion of the institutional and social fabric. This alternative approach provides a broader and more realistic understanding of the realities of corruption. In theory, it may be possible to construct a corruption index based on this alternative framework. In order to give the developing countries a real chance at tackling corruption, it is necessary that the international community, in particular the World Bank and IMF, alter the way they understand corruption.

2011-10-10T00:00:00Z McCormack, Amanda https://hdl.handle.net/2123/7252 2026-04-22T05:25:44Z 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z

In credit we trust?: An analysis of US households and their consumption of credit from 1950-2007 through the lens of financialization McCormack, Amanda

2010-01-01T00:00:00Z Macfarlan, Alex https://hdl.handle.net/2123/7251 2026-04-22T05:25:48Z 2011-04-04T00:00:00Z

Risk, Competition and Credit Cards: The Financialisation of Australian Households Macfarlan, Alex

2011-04-04T00:00:00Z Bryant, Gareth https://hdl.handle.net/2123/7237 2026-04-22T05:25:49Z 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z

The political economy of the Clean Development Mechanism Bryant, Gareth

2010-01-01T00:00:00Z Greenwood, Joshua https://hdl.handle.net/2123/7238 2026-04-22T05:25:40Z 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z

Good for the Nation, Good for the People? Greenwood, Joshua

2010-01-01T00:00:00Z