November 2007
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Annual Report 2007 (Report)
Wed Nov 28 2007 | Australian Business FoundationAustralian Business Foundation Annual Report 2007 -
The Contribution of Services and Other Sectors to Australian Productivity Growth 1980-2004 (Research)
Nov 2007 | Professor Alan Hughes, Director, Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge, UK; Mr Vadim Grinevich, Junior Research Fellow, Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge, UKThis extensive study of 49 sectors in the Australian economy identified two growth periods - a low growth period from 1980 to 1992, then a high growth period from 1992 to 2004. The acceleration in labour productivity growth in the high growth period can be attributed to the performance of just three service sectors - financial intermediation, wholesale trade and a miscellaneous group encompassing transport, machinery and equipment hire, hotels and catering, R&D, legal, technical and advertising.
The productivity dividends came from business transformation such as enhancing the use of enabling technologies, building management capabilities and capitalising on regulatory reforms, rather than as a result of greater capital investment replacing labour. These findings, and the constraints to future growth identified by the authors, open the way for consideration of actions to initiate the next generation of productivity surges from Australia.
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Decade of Discovery Dinner (Presentation)
Thu Nov 15 2007 | Professor Michael Enright, Director, Enright, Scott & Associates and Professor of Business Administration, University of Hong KongUniquely positioned to contrast business in the East and West, Professor Enright treated the audience to insights into the future of business in Asia, and where Australia may fit into the jigsaw puzzle.
