Inclusive Growth in Australia

Inclusive Growth in Australia overturns two decades of assumptions that social policy is wasteful and a source of dependency. It reflects a global resurgence of the understanding that an active and effective social policy regime is vital not only for a flourishing society, but also for a strong economy. It explains this new paradigm of inclusive growth and shows how it can be implemented in Australia. Inclusive growth dismantles the idea that social development will automatically trickle down from untrammelled market based growth. Rather, growth must be managed so that it is employment centred, broad based across sectors and with a social security system promoting sustainability and equality of opportunity. The editors argue that productivity is 'nearly everything' when it comes to raising living standards. So while social policies will be about goals other than the economy, they must demonstrate their compatibility with an economic growth strategy. With contributions from leading national and international experts in the field including Marian Baird, Grant Belchamber, Gerald Burke, Saul Eslake, Roy Green and Peter Whiteford, Inclusive Growth in Australia shows that 'welfare state' spending is as much an economic investment as a measure of social protection. Written for policy makers, industry and NGOs as well as students, Inclusive Growth in Australia locates Australian economic and social policy within the most important emergent themes shaping international debate.

PAUL SMYTH is Professor of Social Policy at the University of Melbourne, and General Manager of the Research and Policy Centre at the Brotherhood of St Laurence, Melbourne. This joint position involves leading research and the development of policy around partnership solutions to Australia's social problems. His work combines policy development and research at the BSL with teaching and research at the University's Centre for Public Policy. JOHN BUCHANAN is Professor and Director of the Workplace Research Centre (WRC) in the Sydney Business School. In recent years, John's research interests have focused on changes associated with the demise of the classical wage earner model of employment. He is especially interested in new approaches to integrating industrial relations, social and economic policies to achieve simultaneous improvements in productivity and fairness.

List of figures and tables Contributors Introduction - Paul Smyth and John Buchanan PART I: INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL CONTEXTS 1 Economic development and inclusive growth: China and India - Pradeep Taneja 2 Social investment, inclusive growth and the Australian way - Paul Smyth PART II: IS GROWTH INCLUSIVE IN AUSTRALIA? 3 Was economic growth in Australia pro-poor? - Francisco Azpitarte 4 Changing employment portfolios and inclusive growth in Australia: Redistributing risks at work - John Buchanan, Gary Dymski, Julie Froud, Sukhdev Johal, Karel Williams and Serena Yu PART III: AN INCLUSIVE ECONOMIC STRATEGY 5 Productivity and inclusive growth - Saul Eslake 6 Social inclusion and the innovation agenda - Don Scott-Kemmis and Roy Green 7 Skills for growth and social inclusion - Gerald Burke PART IV: SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE, PRODUCTIVITY AND PARTICIPATION 8 Social inclusion, education and inclusive growth - Hielke Buddelmeyer 9 Health and human capital - Anthony Harris PART V: SOCIAL SECURITY IN A FLEXIBLE ECONOMY 10 To fix a flaw and fix the floor: Unemployment insurance for Australia - Grant Belchamber 11 Income support, inequality and social risks - Peter Whiteford 12 Inclusive growth: The role of active labour market interventions - Michael Horn 13 Women, work and elder care: New policies required for inclusive growth - Marian Baird and Alexandra Heron 14 Inclusive growth and adult ageing - Simon Biggs Notes Index