Seen for a political economic perspective, there’s always lots of topics needing analysis. This is evident in the array of articles in the new issue of Australia’s leading political economy journal. Topics include debates around green growth; the wages of childcare workers; the management of water; new industry policy interventions; taxing giant tech companies; and tensions between social democracy and neoliberalism.
Almost certainly, the most controversial article will be the first one: assessing what’s at stake in debates between advocates of ‘green growth’ and ‘degrowth’. Written by Tim Thornton, it identifies sources of confusion underlying the different viewpoints, suggests a typology of positions taken on ‘economic growth versus the environment’, and seeks to identify potentially common ground. Given the intensity with which some participants in these debates hold their positions, it is probably unrealistic to expect a cosy consensus to result. Hopefully though, Tim’s article will be widely read and discussed; and further submissions and rejoinders on this important topic could be featured in future issues of the journal.
The next two articles in the new issue of JAPE have been written by former winners of JAPE’s Young Scholars Award, drawing from research previously undertaken for their honours’ theses. Zamela Gina’s article looks at theories of wage determination and the implicit gender bias that has led to relatively low wages for childcare workers. It also points to changes resulting from greater consideration being given to heterodox political economic analyses. The following article by Zac Edwards on ‘liquid capital’ focuses on the Murray-Darling basin, showing the intersection of economics and hydrology, and examining how the process of allocating water entitlements fuels capital accumulation for the different fractions of capital that have a stake in the outcomes.
Another article, written by Al Rainnie, Darryn Snell and Mark Dean, addresses the question of whether the recent flurry of interest in interventionist industry policies, both in Australia and other nations such as the USA, constitutes a significant step towards a ‘new state capitalism’. Its critical analysis sets the Albanese government’s policy for a ‘Future Made in Australia’ in a broader context of the ‘polycrisis’ facing global capitalism.
The changing character of the state is also a theme in Tom Conley’s discussion of the tension between neoliberalism and social democracy. The article reconsiders the Australian Labor governments in the 1983-96 period, quoting the stated intentions of the political architects of the new forms of labour market regulation and financial deregulation were then being implemented. It contributes further to debates on the origins of neoliberalism in Australia already stimulated by Elizabeth Humphry’s book and other articles in previous issues of JAPE.
The final article in the new issue of the journal considers how much tax is paid by multinational tech companies operating in Australia. Spoiler alert – not much. David Richardson from The Australia Institute explores how they get away with it and what might be done to counter this tax minimalization process.
There’s also a cluster of reviews of recent books by authors including Thomas Piketty, Robert Skidelsky, Fred Block, Clive and Myra Hamilton, Claire Parfitt, Joe Collins, and Erik Paul, among others. Some good reading about good reading…
Contrasting with the diverse topics addressed in the latest JAPE, the journal’s next issue will have a single unifying theme – ‘50 years of political economy in Australia’. This is because it will be published exactly half a century since the first full course in political economy began at the University of Sydney in 1975. Submissions for potential inclusion in this special theme issue can address university struggles to get political economy up and running, matters relating to teaching, research and activism, or challenges and prospects for future developments of political economy. The style of articles will be more diverse than usual, ranging from full length papers to much shorter personal observations. The deadline for submissions is 28 February 2025.
More information about the submission process is available in the current issue of JAPE: and potential contributors are welcome to contact the journal’s coordinating editor for further information by emailing frank.stilwell@sydney.edu.au.
Timothy Kenny | Jun 14 2525
Look fwd to it….. perhaps some mandatory reading for all those would be economists in yr 11 and 12….. it might go over their heads a bit but with selected articles (given the current state of Climate, inequity and political uncertainty)…. I think very useful….where else do our kids (ie prior to Uni) get some of this info??