Suchergebnisse

Describes success of the federal government's 1997 reforms to lower Medicare-funded public hospital costs and improve access by imposing a 1% income tax surcharge on high-income earners without private health insurance (PHI) and granting a non-means-tested 30% rebate on PHI premiums to subscribers; Australia.

Over the past six years, financial markets in Australia have been deregulated almost completely. This article attempts to explain why Australia's financial markets have been deregulated and why financial deregulation has occurred so quickly. It suggests the answers lie in changed perceptions of the usefulness of regulation as a means to specific ends. Exogenous developments in the financial environment altered the impact of regulations on financial institutions. The result was a weakening in the competitive position of regulated financial institutions relative to unregulated financial institutions and direct financiers. This led simultaneously to a reduction in the ability of the monetary authorities to control the growth of total financing and a growing perception amongst regulated institutions that the costs of regulated status outweighed the benefits. The rapid demise of the regulations can be traced to the joint realisation by the monetary authorities and the regulated institutions that the regulations no longer served their respective ends. This conjunction of 'public interest' and 'private interest' in financial deregulation can in turn be traced to the unique ability of financial markets to generate close substitutes for existing financial products at low cost.

AbstractMonetary policy has steadily become tighter over the past twelve months. In various statements, the Government has indicated its view that monetary policy needs to be tight in order to subdue an 'excessively high' rate of growth of domestic demand. This article asks whether the current stance of monetary policy is now too restrictive and, if so, what the consequences might be for the pattern and growth of economic activity during 1989‐90. A number of scenarios based on alternative settings of monetary policy in 1989‐90 are derived from a short‐term simulation model of the Australian economy. The scenarios suggest that, if monetary policy remains at the current degree of tightness, the Australian economy may well experience a recession in 1989‐90. Some easing of monetary conditions is mandatory if a sharp and unnecessary slowdown of economic activity is to be avoided. Exactly how far monetary policy should be eased depends crucially on the rate of growth of autonomous investment.