Ungoverning the Economy

Book excerpt: Ungoverning the Economy provides a detailed and comprehensive analysis of the politics and policy dynamics of economic policy making in Australia. The book argues that in the last twenty years there has been a transformation in Australian political economy along 'economic rationalist' lines and that this marks a significant departure from Australia's relatively statist political economy tradition. The dominance of market forces represents a process of ungoverning the economy, at leastas far as the role of elected governments in economic life is concerned. The causes and consequences of these changes are assessed in detail and the book argues that economic rationalist policies have failed to deal with Australia's most fundamental economic problems. Accordingly, there is a need to rethink economic policy and the book ends with constructive suggestions for policy reform. The book is written for a broad audience and seeks to widen the scope of economic debate.