Category Archives: Indigenous Policy

Radical Hope: A Response

Posted on December 7, 2009 by

In October, Noel Pearson wrote a Quarterly Essay on Indigenous education titled “Radical Hope: Education and Equality in Australia”. In the December issue, I have a letter published in response. Full text over the fold.

Posted in Economics of Education, Indigenous Policy, Randomisation | 2 Comments

AbQuit

Posted on April 1, 2008 by

At Crikey, Simon Chapman suggests an intriguing health policy idea: why not pay Indigenous Australians to quit smoking? At the very least, I think this one merits a randomised trial. The critics might say that it will induce start-quit cycles, … Continue reading →

Posted in Indigenous Policy | 11 Comments

Falling Behind

Posted on March 31, 2008 by

A couple of years ago, I read a paper by Roland Fryer and Steve Levitt (non-technical version here), which found that the black-white test score gap in the US widened after children hit school.* With my colleague Xiaodong Gong, we decided … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics of Education, Indigenous Policy

Cash 4 Class in Colombia

Posted on March 25, 2008 by

I’ve been arguing recently that one idea which should be randomly trialled in Indigenous communities in Australia is a cash payment for attending school. Blog reader Brendan Duong points out that I should get some succor from the success of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Indigenous Policy, Trade & Development

The Hamiltonian Solution

Posted on March 12, 2008 by

On the topic of payments to encourage Indigenous children to stay in school, I received a fascinating email from Chris Cullinan, which he’s kindly allowed me to reprint. Greetings Andrew, Saw an article in the Melbourne Age which highlighted your belief … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics of Education, Indigenous Policy

Cash or culture?

Posted on March 8, 2008 by

Farrah Tomazin has an interesting piece in today’s Age on strategies to improve the performance of Indigenous children in Victorian schools, identifying a divide between those who say ‘change the school culture’ and those who say ‘spend more money’.

Posted in Indigenous Policy | 8 Comments

Sport as Social Policy?

Posted on February 20, 2008 by

In the context of Indigenous disadvantage, Francis Xavier Holden floats an idea I’ve never heard before. I’ve thought for a long time that one simple big idea that would contribute to Aboriginal wellbeing would be to locate one AFL team … Continue reading →

Posted in Indigenous Policy, Sport | 15 Comments

More on cash 4 class

Posted on February 18, 2008 by

Today’s Oz has an article by Simon Kearney on one of the ideas I suggested last week – paying Indigenous children to attend school. He neatly links it in to the New York debate over paying poor kids to achieve … Continue reading →

Posted in Indigenous Policy | 10 Comments

Five Ideas for the War Cabinet

Posted on February 14, 2008 by

The ‘war cabinet’ to address Indigenous disadvantage sounds gimmicky on first blush, but may actually play a useful role if it allows the federal government to rely more on the evidence and less on interest groups and the median voter. In … Continue reading →

Posted in Indigenous Policy | 23 Comments

Sorry

Posted on February 12, 2008 by

I’m flying to Sydney on Wednesday (to give a lunchtime seminar at the RBA), so will unfortunately miss the chance to pop down to Parliament House at 9am and witness the historic parliamentary apology to the Stolen Generations. Any readers … Continue reading →

Posted in Australian Politics, Indigenous Policy | 1 Comment

Teach for Oz

Posted on January 20, 2008 by

Noel Pearson’s Cape York Institute has gotten some media attention recently for its proposal to establish a ‘Teach for Australia’ program, under which talented university graduates would work in disadvantaged schools for a couple of years, before going on to … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics of Education, Indigenous Policy | 16 Comments

Open Agenda

Posted on November 5, 2007 by

The ANU’s economics policy journal, Agenda, has recently gone open-access. The latest issue includes Boyd Hunter on Indigenous policy, and a three-way discussion on global warming (complete with three-way rebuttal) between Warwick McKibbin, John Quiggin, and Alex Robson.

Posted in Environmental Economics, Indigenous Policy | 1 Comment

Indigenous Policy Jobs

Posted on October 12, 2007 by

My former econ masters student Kirsten Storry is standing down from her position as indigenous policy researcher at the Centre for Independent Studies to take up a job in a Sydney law firm. It’s good for the law, but a … Continue reading →

Posted in Indigenous Policy

For Better Policymaking, Toss a Coin

Posted on October 4, 2007 by

I have an oped in the Australian Financial Review today, discussing the upsurge of randomised trials in development economics, and linking it to Indigenous policy in Australia. It was written under somewhat unusual circumstances. I’ve spent the past few days on … Continue reading →

Posted in Indigenous Policy, Trade & Development | 8 Comments

A Crisis, Definitely a Crisis

Posted on June 25, 2007 by

My friend Justin Wolfers emails an observation on the Indigenous policy initiative. I was just looking at the actual report that led to Howard’s actions with the aboriginal communities.  As I understand it, he is pushing these new policies based … Continue reading →

Posted in Indigenous Policy | 25 Comments

Censoring Centrefolds

Posted on June 25, 2007 by

While most of the recent commentary has been on the federal government’s health checks and alcohol bans, one of the more curious aspects is the pornography ban. So far as I know, there’s no convincing experimental evidence on the question of … Continue reading →

Posted in Indigenous Policy | 10 Comments

Howard's 18th Amendment

Posted on June 22, 2007 by

According to today’s press: Mr Howard said the Government’s intention was to “introduce widespread alcohol restrictions on Northern Territory Aboriginal land for six months”. The government is clearly right in noting that alcohol is a major contributor to Indigenous disadvantage. … Continue reading →

Posted in Indigenous Policy | 15 Comments

Indigenous Crime Event Next Monday

Posted on May 22, 2007 by

Just a quick reminder about the ANU Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Indigenous Crime event scheduled for next Monday afternoon (details here). And to whet your appetite, here’s a recent paper co-authored by one of the speakers, Boyd Hunter. The economic and … Continue reading →

Posted in Coming Events, Indigenous Policy | 1 Comment

Indigenous Violence & Crime

Posted on May 15, 2007 by

I’m running an event on Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Indigenous Crime on 28 May (details here). So it’s timely that the Australian Bureau of Statistics yesterday released a series of statistics on Indigenous Australians’ exposure to crime and the justice system. … Continue reading →

Posted in Indigenous Policy | 5 Comments

Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Indigenous Crime

Posted on May 8, 2007 by

I’m organising an event on ‘Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Indigenous Crime’ at ANU on 28 May. Details over the fold. All welcome.

Posted in Coming Events, Indigenous Policy | 3 Comments

Indigenous Literacy

Posted on August 31, 2006 by

In a new CIS report, Kirsten Storry* outlines the low levels of english literacy among Indigenous Australians, especially in remote communities, and suggests some policy reforms. Among her findings: * Literacy levels among children and adults in remote communities are … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics of Education, Indigenous Policy | 12 Comments

Don't believe the hype

Posted on August 14, 2006 by

I forgot to mention how much I enjoyed Boyd Hunter’s public lecture on August 3, on the topic that Indigenous policy should be based on evidence rather than hyperbole. Much of the talk focused on critiquing work coming out of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Indigenous Policy | 4 Comments