American economist Paul Krugman once famously said, “Productivity isn’t everything, but in the long run, it’s nearly everything.” Productivity is the efficiency with which firms, industry, and the economy, convert inputs such as labour, capital, and raw materials, into income. It increases when output grows faster than input and is a crucial factor driving improved standards of living. Labour productivity, in particular, is essential in driving growth in living standards. Therefore, cities, regions, and countries devote extra time and effort to improve in this area. How can regions improve productivity across the country? Read on.

Helping people to walk safely and efficiently around Melbourne’s CBD is vital to a strong economy. Nearly every week we see the costs and benefits of road infrastructure modelled to inform investment decisions but very little is said about the benefits of making it easier and safer for people to get around on foot.

Public policy literature overwhelmingly focuses on premium inner-city innovation precincts - but planned innovation outside typical inner-city innovation precincts is both important and possible. In this paper, we identify what makes planned innovation precincts successful and recommend that policymakers consider different policy mixes to support innovation in both the alleys of the cities and the valleys of the regions.

This paper has two purposes: to provide a clear justification in planning and economic theory for affordable housing contributions and to propose specific mechanisms by which affordable housing contributions can be efficiently and equitably generated via the planning and development assessment process.