Publications
Here you'll find a collection of my publications, both academic and professional. Publications are first sorted by category (e.g., "Academic") and then by date, with the most recent publications located at the top. Please note that for various legal and personal reasons, none of my AECOM publications will be listed or made available on this website.
Academic Papers
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A Dynamic Approach to Western Australian Ports
13/09/2011
This paper was presented to the 2011 PATREC Forum at Curtin University. It seeks to be a first step towards a new framework for Western Australian port governance with the aim of unlocking and promoting a more flexible and dynamic environment for ports to operate within. In contrast to the Port Authorities Act 1999, this paper proposes a framework that will better allow ports to facilitate trade through the continuous pursuit of new opportunities, least cost alternative methods of production and the efficient utilisation of scarce resources given an uncertain future. It argues that the goal for port reform should not be one that sets uniform standards or seeks to achieve some ideal static equilibrium benchmarks but should be one that – by ensuring the correct institutional structures and thus incentives are in place – creates the necessary conditions for intertemporally coordinated and social welfare maximising performance in Western Australian ports.
Independent Research
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Currency Games
23/09/2011
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Project Western Australia: Transport Infrastructure
Forthcoming
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Money Madness*
05/05/2011
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When the Tide Changes*
18/02/2011
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One Trick Pony?*
19/12/2010
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Ruinous Nation*
15/10/2010
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The Illusion of Prosperity*
09/08/2010
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The Great Australian Bubble*
08/04/2010
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Fool's Paradise*
19/02/2010
This paper shows just how vulnerable the Australian economy is to a reversal of fortunes in the capital flows that saw the Aussie dollar peak at over A$1.1/US$1 just a few weeks ago. Like so much in economics, any potential reversal in money flows - or risk aversion panic - will have widespread ramifications for the fragile Australian economy that lies outside the hyper-driven commodity sector.
This paper is part of a forward-looking joint program of the Mannkal Economic Education Foundation and the Institute of Public Affairs, Project Western Australia. It examines infrastructure requirements in Western Australia and in particular how the Western Australian State Government should go about determining priorities. Covering roads, rail, seaports and airports, the paper compares and contrasts the merits of various funding models and looks at what methods are most appropriate for sustainable investment in both new infrastructure and the maintenance and prolonging the usable life of existing infrastructure assets.
Money Madness looks at institutions and how they can influence incentives and distort the self-interested actions of individuals. Using the case of Australia, it examines how certain institutional structures can indirectly cause very real structural problems in an economy.
When the Tide Changes looks at the relationship between house prices and the current account balance (the corollary of which is the capital account inflow or outflow).
This report looks at Australia's current commodity boom and compares it with previous episodes of commodity euphoria in the country, all of which have all ended badly.
This report examines the structural effects that Chinese demand has on Australia.
The Illusion of Prosperity looks at how trouble is likely to manifest itself and the disconnect emerging between end-users of property and investors.
The Great Australian Bubble takes a detailed look at the housing market in Australia.
Fool's Paradise examined the credit conditions in Australia and the response of the banks to the global credit crunch.
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