Occasional Papers
Occasional Papers (OP) are short publications usually based on a lecture or presentation given at the CIS. Our annual John Bonython and Acton Lectures are part of the OP series.
Categories
After the Welfare State: Politicians Stole Your Future … You Can Get It Back
History, economics, sociology, political science, and mathematics are the tools to understand and evaluate welfare states, rather than emotional responses or conspiracy theories. This little book, edited... Read More
The Condensed Wealth of Nations and The Incredibly Condensed Theory of Moral Sentiments
In The Condensed Wealth of Nations, Eamonn Butler condenses Adam Smith’s work and explains the key concepts in The Wealth of Nations clearly. It is accessible and readable to any intelligent layman. This... Read More
The Multi-layered Hayek
Friedrich August von Hayek was one of the intellectual giants of the 20th century. His contributions ranged from economics to philosophy, from law to psychology. This collection of essays aims to rediscover... Read More
Empires on the Edge of Chaos: The Nasty Fiscal Arithmetic of Imperial Decline
In the 26th John Bonython lecture, Niall Ferguson, one of the world’s leading geo-economic thinkers and best-selling author of The Ascent of Money and The War of the World, discussed the complexity behind... Read More
Declaring Dependence, Declaring Independence: Three Essays on the Future of the Welfare State
In a time when governments are running up enormous welfare bills and intrusively regulating everyday life, this series of essays remind us that many people do not need to rely on the government to survive. Read More
Welfare Reform and Economic Development for Indigenous Communities
Noel Pearson's lecture is to set out a case for a comprehensive reform agenda in Cape York Peninsula. Read More
A Self-Reliant Australia. Welfare Policy for the 21st century
In this paper Peter Saunders suggests that the time has come to turn back the growth of this expensive, damaging, demeaning and largely unnecessary welfare state behemoth Read More
What Governments Can't Know: The Knowledge Economy and the Market
Are governments well placed to foster the infusion of different types of complex knowledge to create new or better goods and services? The Eighteenth Annual John Bonython Lecture delivered by Lauchlan... Read More
What Governments Can't Know: The Knowledge Economy and the Market
Are governments well placed to foster the infusion of different types of complex knowledge to create new or better goods and services? The Eighteenth Annual John Bonython Lecture delivered by Lauchlan... Read More
Democracy and the Welfare State
The welfare state has now been experienced by several generations. In this Occasional Paper, Professor Kenneth Minogue looks at some of its effects on the character of Western states and societies. The... Read More
Social Welfare: The Changing Debate
David D. Green’s monograph Social Welfare: The Changing Debate, summarises the research findings and arguments of several recent studies of welfare dependency. Read More
Beyond the Current Pessimism
Professor Ray Ball gives a personal interpretation of the historical roots of Australia’s economic malaise. Read More
The Rhetoric and Reality of Income Redistribution
In this survey of a variety of aspects of income redistribution, Gordon Tullock asks not that we should necessarily change our behaviour, but that we should at least speak the truth about what we are doing. Read More
The Rhetoric and Reality of Income Redistribution
Income distribution is an overwhelming part of the program of all governments. Too often, however, the rationalisations used to explain these transfer programs do not accord with our observable behaviour.... Read More
