Journal of Australian Political Economy

Seen for a political economic perspective, there’s always lots of topics needing analysis. This is evident in the array of articles in the new issue of Australia’s leading political economy journal. Topics include debates around green growth; the wages of childcare workers; the management of water; new industry policy interventions; taxing giant tech companies; and tensions between social democracy and neoliberalism.

Almost certainly, the most controversial article will be the first one: assessing what’s at stake in debates between advocates of ‘green growth’ and ‘degrowth’. Written by Tim Thornton, it identifies sources of confusion underlying the different viewpoints, suggests a typology of positions taken on ‘economic growth versus the environment’, and seeks to identify potentially common ground. Given the intensity with which some participants in these debates hold their positions, it is probably unrealistic to expect a cosy consensus to result. Hopefully though, Tim’s article will be widely read and discussed; and further submissions and rejoinders on this important topic could be featured in future issues of the journal.

The editors of the Journal of Australian Political Economy like to encourage and enable students to progress to publishing articles based on their work. Particularly for any student who has been writing a dissertation or thesis, getting an article published in a reputable journal like JAPE is potentially helpful in job-seeking and career development. It is also a personally fulfilling process.

The JAPE Young Scholar Award also provides a more direct incentive because a prize of $1000 goes to the Award winner. A further $1000 is payable when the resulting article is published.

The descriptor ‘Young Scholar’ does not set an age limit: rather it indicates that applicants should be in the transitional stage from student essay-writing to publishing an article for a more senior audience. Applicants may be of any age, but should be in at least their third year of undergraduate study in political economy or a related social science subject. They may have already completed their degree.

Political economy is most influential when it links academic analysis with practical participation in processes of social change. Concurrently, the enthusiasm and growing expertise of a younger generation of political economists is crucial. Both features are evident in the latest issue of the Journal of Australian Political Economy. Its contents range from the analysis of the federal budget to the political economy of Antonio Negri; and from the Albanese government’s new industry policies to the ongoing controversy over building seawalls to protect coastal real estate. The authors range from political economy newcomers to veterans; while the implicit sub-text is about relevance and regeneration.

The post A New Edition of JAPE: Relevance and Regeneration appeared first on Progress in Political Economy (PPE).

The midpoint of the current federal Labor government’s term of office is a good time to take stock and assess its performance. What has it done in each of the major policy areas? What has not yet been done but needs to be done? What are the possibilities and prospects? More generally, what does the recent experience of Labor in government indicate about the role of the state and policies for reform within modern Australian capitalism?

This special theme issue of JAPE contains 19 articles that address these concerns.

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The Journal of Australian Political Economy continues to be the go-to place for publishing political economy for local (and international) readers.

The journal’s latest issue (Winter 2023) contains full-length articles on a variety of topics, with particular focus on Australian industry policy issues, bank lending policy and regional inequalities in housing affordability. A review article considers recent books dealing with climate change and capitalism. Four shorter articles on recent official reports are also featured, along with an array of reviews and notes on recent political economy publications. Overall, the contents of this latest issue show the continuing vitality of political economy scholarship and research in Australia [...]

The post JAPE: new and forthcoming issues appeared first on Progress in Political Economy (PPE).

The 90th issue of the Journal of Australian Political Economy was published this week, at the end of a deeply troubling year – with Russia’s war on Ukraine, the emergence of strong inflationary tendencies, growing fears of economic recession, and mounting evidence of deepening climate change. Incisive political economic analysis is always needed for understanding what is happening in the world around us – but now more than ever [...]

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