Australia was one of the few OECD countries to emerge from the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) without facing a recession, usually defined as negative GDP growth for two consecutive quarters. However, the (overall) unemployment rate did increase following the GFC and has still not returned to pre–GFC levels. Unemployment rates for young people went up much more dramatically and remain high. This article investigates the impact of the GFC on youth unemployment and long-term unemployment. To anticipate our results, we find that the youth unemployment rates increased significantly owing to a fall in aggregate demand, although youth wages had been falling relative to adult wages. These findings do not support the commonly heard claim that youth wages are pricing young people out of the market.

Australia has one of the most ‘liberalised’ electricity sectors in the world. The sale of government-owned electricity companies has contributed to that liberalisation and a quarter of the proceeds of one of the world’s largest privatisation programmes. In 2014, the state governments of New South Wales and Queensland announced further electricity privatisations if re-elected. Advocates claim private ownership will mean more productive investment, lower costs leading to more efficient operations, lower prices for all consumers and better market functioning without government interference. Opponents contend that the true value of government businesses is not being realised at sale, retention can achieve returns greater than those from a sale, and that follow sale, prices will rise and jobs will be lost. This article demonstrates that the claims of either lower or higher prices, of job losses and of more efficient operations are tantamount to being myths of privatisation not borne out by reality.

In an era where legally binding international trade agreements are increasingly shaping domestic regulation in a wide range of areas, the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement between the US, Australia, Japan and nine other Pacific Rim Countries, representing over 40% of world trade, has been described as setting the standards for 21st century trade agreements. This article analyses why the negotiations have dragged on for 5 years, and the resistance to the potential impacts of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement on national democratic decision-making on health, environmental and other public interest regulation.

The purpose of this article is to assess the relationship between trade liberalisation in Tunisia and the employment intensity of sectoral output growth, in order to examine the claim that free trade creates jobs by stimulating growth. Using panel data for 15 Tunisian sectors over the period 1983–2010, we compare estimated sectoral output–employment elasticities prior to and following the Free Trade Agreement process with the European Union. The results provide evidence that trade liberalisation in Tunisia has led to an increase in the intensity of employment in exporting manufacturing sectors like textiles, clothing and leather industries, and mechanical and electrical industries. However, their ability to generate jobs in response to value-added growth remains weak. Conversely, since the Free Trade Agreement process, the most labour-intensive service sectors, notably tourism and miscellaneous services, have shown a significant decrease in the employment intensity of their output growth. Our findings suggest that the Free Trade Agreement with the European Union has not really fostered the shift of the Tunisian Economy towards a more inclusive model and support the argument for a reorientation of investment policy in favour of sectors generating more job opportunities.

This study addresses the effectiveness of the fiscal stimulus package announced by the Turkish government in 2009 in terms of its particular gendered outcomes, with a special emphasis on employment policies. Through an analysis of the package’s components and the policies of the Public Employment Agency of Turkey (Iskur), this article demonstrates the public sector’s reluctance to take a leading role in generating employment and the insufficiency of its efforts in addressing the stated goal of increasing women’s employment. Active and passive employment policies in Turkey are instead shown to be accommodating the country’s gender-segregated labour markets and discrimination against women.

Individual managers may make judgements and decisions which reflect social expectations rather than organisational policy. Society generally requires that individuals with an illness take leave from their work, seek medical assistance and return when they are well. This is not possible for individuals with chronic illness. By its nature, chronic illness has no cure. Individuals who are diagnosed with diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease and who also undertake paid employment may need to disclose their illness and seek some form of accommodation in their workplace. Understanding attitudes of managers plays a significant role in the success of managing work and chronic illness. This article examines the working experiences of women with chronic illness where the attitudes of managers were less understanding.

Behavioural economics research has pointed to the importance of market inefficiencies, framing, heuristics and hyperbolic discounting. Empirically, behavioural economics has been shown to predict patterns of consumer behaviour, exercise patterns and substance addiction. In this article, I discuss the ways in which our growing understanding of behavioural economics has shaped the development of public policies. I conclude with six pieces of advice for behavioural policymakers.