Microeconomic Reforms

The final topic that you will study as part of Unit 4 is Microeconomic Reform. This is a much bigger topic, and you will probably spend as long learning this section of the course as you did learning about the two macroeconomic policies combined.

Once again you will need to understand both the approach that has been used by the government, and the impact that these changes have had on the Australian economy. The difference here is that there is no set limit on the number of policy options that could count as “microeconomic reforms”. When the government is making changes to one particular sector of the economy, the implementation of those changes will be an appropriate policy to consider. As such, the range is enormous.

Fortunately the Study Design will provide you with some guidance in this area. This document specifically identifies the types of policies that you should get to know – privatization, deregulation, corporatisation, National Competition Policy, taxation reform, tariff reform and labour market reform. You will be able to gain an introductory understanding to each of these policy options from this website.

However, as you read through the information in the following pages, keep in mind that I have not written about each and every time that these policies have been used in Australia. For example, many former government business enterprises have been privatized, and here you will only learn about a few of them. It is vital that you read widely when studying the implementation of microeconomic reforms in this country. If you do not, you may get a surprise on the end of year exam….