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Professor John Houghton, Victoria University

Photo of John Houghton

Currently Professorial Fellow at Victoria University's Centre for Strategic Economic Studies (CSES) and Director of the Centre's Information Technologies and the Information Economy Program, John has had a number of years experience in information technology policy, science and technology policy and more general industry policy related economic research. He has published and spoken widely, and is a regular consultant to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris. In 1998, John was awarded a National Australia Day Council, Australia Day Medal for his contribution to IT industry policy development.

Since graduating Doctor of Philosophy (Economics) from the University of Queensland, John has held the positions of:

  • Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for International Research on Communication and Information Technologies (CIRCIT)  where he was the leader and coordinator of the centre’s Computer Software and Services Research Program and editor of the widely circulated CIRCIT Newsletter;
  • Principal Economist at the Bureau of Industry Economics (BIE)  where he coordinated a research program focusing on communication and information technology policy issues and participated in the Bureau’s infrastructure services benchmarking program;
  • Adviser, Information Industries Policy at the Australian Commonwealth Department of Industry, Science and Tourism (DIST)  where he played a role in the development of policy within the Information Industries Taskforce and in the production of the ‘Goldsworthy report’: The Information Economy: The Way Ahead, Report of the National Information Industries Taskforce (July 1997);
  • Principal Adviser, State Development Policy with the Victorian Department of State Development  where he took a lead role in directing the Department’s policy research and development agenda; and
  • Associate Director, Australian Expert Group in Industry Studies (AEGIS), University of Western Sydney.
John has also been actively involved in a number of professional and industry bodies. Over recent years he has been:
  • Information Sciences correspondent for Search, the Journal of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZAAS);
  • An executive member of the Information Industries Roundtable (IIR), which operates as Australia's IT users' peak body under the umbrella of the Federal Department of Industry;
  • A member of a World Bank expert panel on Knowledge Assessment methodologies for the Asia-Pacific region;
  • A member of the editorial board of Telecommunications Policy; and
  • A member of the Communications, Information Technology and E-commerce Committee (CITEC) of Standards Australia.
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  • Friend or Foe? Leveraging Foreign Multinationals in the Australian Economy (Research)
    Jan 2002

    To what degree do multinationals influence, either positively or negatively, the growth, capacity and skills of Australian firms?  This study found that multinationals are more friend than foe but that the relationship is fragile and firms and policy makers need to be smarter about engaging with them to maximise the benefits of access to global knowledge, skills and markets. 

    By being demanding customers, multinationals contribute to better quality products and services which are more sought after in global markets.  If firms and policy makers can encourage multinationals to set down deeper roots in research, innovation and product development here, Australian firms can continue to capitalise on skills and knowledge transfer for their own gain, and this investment will act as a magnet for further investment to encourage more sustainable relationships with multinational firms.