Policy Evaluation
BCEC plays an active role in policy forecasting and evaluation. A range of applied economic methods are used to evaluate the content, implementation and impact of current and proposed policies across Australia. Evaluation findings can highlight ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ in the population under proposed and existing policy reforms, as well as the overall budgetary implications of proposed reforms at both Federal and State levels.
The findings from the Centre’s evaluations are intended to inform decision-making by policymakers in regard to the benefits and trade-offs of proposed policy changes. Examples of evaluations on current and proposed programs that the Centre’s researchers have conducted include the NSW government’s ‘Keep Them Safe’ child protection initiative, the national Headspace program providing early intervention mental health services to young people, and a range of housing-related policies and programs such as changes to the First Home Owner’s Grant, stamp duty and land tax provisions, and public housing rent-setting rules.
Related Projects
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Supporting small businesses through the business of electrification
Valuing financial counselling in Western Australia
Rental stock dynamics in Australia: Building an evidence base for policy action
Estimating the causal effects of the demand-driven system reform on higher education equity
City of Fremantle community family and domestic violence prevention project
Mental Awareness, Respect and Safety (MARS) Landmark Study
Related Publications
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A sharp escalation in tensions between the United States and Iran has pushed oil prices higher and reminded the world of a familiar vulnerability – when energy supply is disrupted, the economic consequences are felt quickly and widely. For Australia,... Read article
This paper investigates how political corruption moderates the effectiveness of public investment in research and development (R&D) for energy technologies in driving decarbonisation. Using annual panel data for 25 OECD countries (1990–2022), we apply a two-stage instrumental variable approach that... Read article
Innovation and research and development (R&D) investments are central to regional economic growth. Yet, in the UK, these activities are heavily concentrated in the Greater South East, which receives the majority of public and private R&D spending. This imbalance has... Read article
Every Person Counts: Planning for WA’s future population
About Every Person Counts: Planning for WA’s future population This twentieth report in the BCEC’s Focus on Western Australia series examines the state’s population story through that wider lens. It asks a set of fundamental questions. What is driving WA’s population growth,... Read article
This is the third and final report arising from the AHURI-funded Inquiry into developing a long-term governance and resource framework for sustainable and effective Indigenous housing. The research uses the term ‘Indigenous’ when referring to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander... Read article
Australia’s economic performance benefits substantially from the contributions of its services sector, particularly in relation to health, aged care, education, childcare and social support services. Yet traditional productivity measures fail to capture the long-term and intergenerational value of human services... Read article
The Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre team acknowledges the Wadjuk Nyungar people as the traditional owners of the land on which the Centre is situated.