Publications
Our publications are the most important means of contact between the Centre's ideas and its general readership. Since 1976, The Centre for Independent Studies has produced some of the most authoritative publications in Australasian academia. From the influential Lands of Shame to the authoritative Will China Fail? CIS has published hundreds of publications covering topics from the social policy to legal affairs to religion and education.
In addition to books, the CIS publishes a range of shorter publications: Issue Analyses deal with controversial and current issues and Policy Mongraphs investigate and offer policy solutions. Since 1984, Policy magazine has published feature articles and reviews authored by some of the foremost national and international thinkers on public policy and ideas. The quality of writing and the diversity of topics in Policy ensure its status as a 'must read' by leading politicans, businesspeople and academics.
Hard copies of our publications are available for purchase through the bookstore. Many of the smaller publications are also available for download.
CONTRIBUTIONS
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All Regulation Publications
TARGET30: Reducing the burden for future generations
TARGET30 is a campaign promoting smaller government and cutting government spending to less than 30% of GDP in the next 10...
TARGET30: Towards smaller government and future prosperity
TARGET30 is a campaign promoting smaller government, supported by a series of research reports providing policy solutions...
TARGET30 SNAPSHOT: Towards smaller government and future prosperity
TARGET30 is a campaign promoting smaller government, supported by a series of research reports providing policy solutions...
Back to the Bad Old Days? Industrial Relations Reform in Australia
Has the Fair Work Act thrown industrial relations back to ‘the bad old days?’ This report analyses the changes in industrial...
Book Launch: 'The Modest Member: The Life and Times of Bert Kelly'
While Liberals, and certainly liberals, should be proud of Bert Kelly’s legacy, it must not be forgotten that his greatest...
Regulation or Strangulation? Banking After the Global Financial Crisis
Inadequate regulation of finance has taken much of the blame for the global financial crisis, leading governments around...
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...
Flight of the Kiwi: Addressing the Brain Drain
Why are so many New Zealanders flocking to Australian shores, and what can be done to stop the so-called Kiwi ‘brain drain’? In...
Price Drivers: Five Case Studies in How Government is Making Australia Unaffordable
Government influences price levels in more ways than is immediately apparent. Through its direct and indirect interventions...
Trans-Atlantic Fiscal Follies: The Sequel
What started as the US subprime crisis became the global financial crisis and has now developed into the Trans-Atlantic sovereign...
Free-Trade Ferries: A Case for Competition
Sydney needs a network of ferries that is able to cater to the city’s changing demographics but is also financially sustainable...
Alcohol Policy and the Politics of Moral Panic
New Zealand’s proposed liquor legislation marks a return to old attitudes towards alcohol regulation that perversely believe,...
Ludwig von Mises – A Primer
In Ludwig von Mises – A Primer, Eamonn Butler presents a comprehensive yet accessible overview of the outstanding achievements...
June 2010 e-PreCIS
The Rudd government’s Resources Super Profits Tax (RSPT) confirms what Ronald Reagan said about politicians and their view...
Towards a Red Tape Trading Scheme: Treating Excessive Bureaucracy as Just Another Kind of Pollution
Government should measure the regulatory costs on the Australian economy and consider a ‘cap and trade’ scheme to manage...
FEATURE: Liberating our Cities
Development and zoning laws run contrary to private and public interests.
FEATURE: Rethinking Professional Regulation
Competitive professional regulation would lead to lower costs for consumers.
Harmacy: The Political Economy of Community Pharmacy in Australia
The regulatory environment that governs community pharmacy has created one of Australia’s most protected industries. It...
FEATURE: Once More Around the Block
History demonstrates that propping up the local car industry is a trimph of hope over experience.
Government Intervention in Mortgage Finance: The Case Against 'AussieMac'
An Australian GSE and the mortgage securitisation industry would likely expand only at the expense of other financial intermediaries,...
FEATURE: Finding a Cab: The Better Deal for Taxi Customers
Cheaper and more readily available taxis are possible without expensive compensation for taxi licence owners.
BOOK REVIEW: The Virtue of Prosperity
The Virtue of Prosperity: Finding Values in an age of Techno-Affluence by Dinesh D'Souza (The Free Press, 2000.)
Taxi! Reinvigorating Competition in the Taxi Market
Without drastic improvements, taxi services will not be able to service the Olympic Games. Long queues and disgruntled tourists...
Why Small Business Is Not Hiring: Regulatory Impediments to Small Business Growth
Small business makes an important contribution to the Australian economy, accounting for 42 percent of employment in 1997-98....
FEATURE: Fencing the Oceans
A rights-based approach to privatising fisheries.
FEATURE: Postal Services: Public Or Private, Competition or Monopoly?
A review of Australia Post, considering competition issues such as community service obligations and the legislative standard...
SCHOOLS' BRIEF: The Economics of Regulation Review
As part of the microeconomic reform process, Australian governments are paying more attention to the costs and benefits of...
BOOK REVIEW: Libertarians and Liberalism: Essays in Honour of Gerard Radnitzky
Libertarians and Liberalism: Essays in Honour of Gerard Radnitzky by H. Bouillon (Avebury-Ashgate Publishing, 1996.)
FEATURE: Regulation Reform in the 90s: Challenges and Opportunities
Improving the quality of regulation.
FEATURE: Electronic Social Justice
Australian ideas about the information have-nots.
BOOK REVIEW: Australian Civilisation
Australian Civilisation edited by Richard Nile (Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1994.)
BOOK REVIEW: The Australian Economy in the Japanese Mirror
The Australian Economy in the Japanese Mirror edited by Kyoko Sheridan (University of Queensland Press, 1992.)
Advertising Bands: Administrative Decisions or Matters of Principle?
In this Occasional Paper, John Gray argues that the paradox reflects the fallacious belief that the economic sphere of life...
Regulating for Competition? Trade Practices Policy in a Changing Economy
Arguments for a greater reliance on market forces to protect consumer welfare are explored in this collection by leading...
Takeovers and Corporate Control: Towards a New Regulatory Environment
These papers from a CIS conference on takeovers represent a wide variety of viewpoints on the pros and cons of an unregulated...
Private Correspondence: Competition or Monolopy in Australia's Postal Services?
Dr Albon believes that the most important and practical way to improve postal services to the public is to allow competition.
Trial Without Error: Anticipation vs Resilence as Strategies for Risk Reduction
Safety regulations are proliferating at a great rate in society today, attempting to protect us from hundreds of known and...
Enterprise: Free, Dependent or Captor?
The relationship between government and business is the theme of this essay. Each depends on the other, and each uses the...
Capital Xenophobia: Australia's Controls of Foreign Investment
An early study by the CIS which supported the lifting of controls on foreign investment in Australia.
Changes in the Air? Issues in Domestic Aviation Policy
The papers in this volume examine various aspects of domestic aviation in Australia in light of economic research and attempt...
Occupational Regualtion and the Public Interest
Edited by Robert Albon and Greg Lindsay with contributions from 12 authors. Does occupational regulation serve the public...
The Entreprenuer in Society
These papers explore the role of the entreprenuer in society.
The Economics of Bureacracy and Statutory Authorities
This book looks at how government enterprises and regulatory agencies are evaluated by their efficiency and in terms of...
Rationalising Rustic Regulation
A landmark discussion of agricultural policy in Australia. Written in 1982, Ted Sieper asks 'who gains' with respect to...
Rent Control: Costs and Consequences
Essays on the history and the economic and social consequences of rent control on Australia and overseas.
On Buying a Job: The Regulation of a Taxicab in Canberra
Throughout the world, the taxi industry attracts government regulation. Government agencies determine what vehicles may be...
COMMENT: Capitalism: The Wave of the Future
While capitalism has long been criticised for its alleged weakening of traditional bonds, in practice it is compatible with...
