Australia Archives | Emeritus Professor John Mangan

The Labour Market in “Home and Away” (Australian soap opera)

21/11/2025

If you are sick, need a tradesperson, want good police protection and like sports and entertainment, Summer Bay may be the place for you, despite its high mortality rate! Introduction The popular series Home and Away began in 1988, Set in the fictional coastal town of Summer Bay began with the original premise of Tom and Pippa Fletcher moving to Summer Bay with their foster children, aiming to provide a stable home for troubled youth It is Australia’s 8th longest

Why would you shop at an unfriendly grocer?

14/11/2025

On visiting a seaside resort town, I came across a shop called the “Friendly Grocer”. I wondered why it was necessary to specify friendliness?. Would customers shop, all things being equal, at an unfriendly grocer? and does greeting customers with a smile allow for higher prices? On inspection a number of unnecessary and even suspicious business names to be found Pet friendly Vet Quality meats Honest Solicitor Accurate accountants (just made this one up) Reliable Plumbing Honest Auto Repairs Perfect

Perspectives on the Japanese economy – series II

07/11/2025

Series II Reasons behind the slowdown; standard economic cycle behaviour or a peculiarly Japanese problem? All economies go through cycles. Standard economic cycles range from 5-7 years, The unusual feature of the Japanese path is that it has been sustained for longer than normal. As will be argued below, the decline in the high savings rate, formerly a bedrock of the Japanese economy is seen a principal reasons for this decline but there are other characteristics of the Japanese economy

Perspectives on the Japanese economy – series I

02/11/2025

Series I Introduction The Japanese economy and its stunning economic success were a major topic of discussion for economics students in Australia in the 1970s. I learned with much interest about the post war Japanese economic miracle which began in the 1960’s. The dominance of Japanese in electronics and cars well into the 1980’s confirmed the appearance of continuing economic prosperity. Yet within this growth and consolidation period there was always a nagging concern ; The Japanese national debt was always

Teachers as health workers; a consideration of the economic impacts using unique survey data

11/10/2025

Abstract Teachers face a multiplicity task in undertaking their work. Some of these tasks are not primarily educational and may be described as health related. In the provision of these services there is a net transfer of economic benefit from the Education Sector to the Health Sector. Disentangling the net amount of this transfer is difficult and depends largely upon the substitutability between teacher-initiated health-work and “market” based health work which might reasonably be carried out by health professionals. The

Placing an economic value on clinical service interventions using self-reported data

22/08/2025

This presentation examines the value of and necessity for economic evaluation of community based educational health initiatives. In house evaluation of these initiatives are often based on self-reported data that requires analysis for both reliability and suitability in economic evaluation. This presentation sets out to describe the necessary steps to provide rigorous economic evaluations of community health initiatives designed to reduce the incidence and impact of type 2 diabetes.

Economic Costs of Road Congestion in Australia and how to reduce it : Part II

12/07/2025

Despite numerous and well-intentioned efforts to reduce road congestion, any relief achieved by these efforts tends to be short lived. Consider the case of the M1 in Queensland The M1 Pacific Motorway to the Gold Coast—particularly the stretch between Brisbane and Tugun—began experiencing congestion issues relatively soon after its initial construction, due to rapid population growth and increased tourism in the region. Motorways are modern examples of Say’s law whereby supply creates demand/ The short sequence between constriction of the

Economic Costs of Road Congestion in Australia and how to reduce it : Part I

11/07/2025

Commuters from outer suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne spend 41% of their commute stuck in traffic, equivalent to ~77 hours/year These delays are roughly two full working weeks per year per driver. Without major action congestion and associated costs are expected to double by 2030 Traffic congestion is a persistent issue in urban areas worldwide, with far-reaching economic consequences. As cities grow and vehicle ownership increases, the strain on transportation infrastructure intensifies, leading to longer travel times, increased fuel consumption, and reduced productivity. The data

John Buchanan, Australian Cricket Coach interview with John Mangan

22/06/2025

John Buchanan, the coach with the laptop. John Buchanan was the Australian Cricket Coach between 1999 and 2007, a period of unparalleled success for the team. Prior to that he coached the Queensland team to their first Sheffield Shield victories. During this period John pioneered the use of data and data analysis to inform and raise the expectations of even great players. He would later formalize this approach in his book If better is possible. In this way he was a pioneer

Structural change in Australian Universities- Part 3 the impact of the rise in international students

16/05/2025

International students have become a major source of revenue for Australian universities but also a source of structural and ethical concern Introduction International students have been a major source of revenue for Australian universities since the 1990s, with their contributions growing significantly over time. Pre Covid in 2018-19, international education generated AUD$37.6 billion, making it Australia’s third-largest export after coal and iron ore. Successive Commonwealth Governments seized on this to reduce their funding of Australian Universities Back in 1990,

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