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Research reports

Trans-Atlantic Fiscal Follies: The Sequel

07/12/2011
In 2009, CIS Research Fellows Robert Carling and Dr Oliver Marc Hartwich predicted sovereign debt troubles on both sides of the Atlantic at a CIS event called ‘Trans-Atlantic Fiscal Follies.’ In August 2011, they were joined by CIS Research Fellow Adam Creighton to discuss the future for those countries buckling under their sovereign debt obligations. How much worse is it going to get? And does it have to get worse before it gets better? Will the dollar survive as the lead currency? Will the euro survive at all? Will gold continue to rise? And what’s the endgame of government debt?

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No fuel like an old fuel: Germany’s nuclear reaction provides a win for coal

26/11/2011
Energy companies are finding their profitable business models invalidated, national energy security is undermined by reliance on electricity imports, and instead of shifting towards renewable energies Germany’s energy future lies in subsidised coal. Fear and green populism were bad counsellors indeed when Germany drew the wrong lessons from the Fukushima accident.

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Battle of the think tanks

06/11/2011
After World War II, Europe became a continent of great expectations and little ambitions. For decades, governments had promised their peoples a life free of worry. Free education and healthcare, good infrastructure, a social-security safety net, lifelong jobs in the public sector followed by generous pensions – that’s what Europeans expected from the state.

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Europe’s forgotten lessons of history

30/10/2011
The rise and fall of the Euro is just another chapter in the long history of monetary unions in Europe. The Euro was not the first attempt to unite different European economies and countries by a monetary framework. And it will not be the first such currency to fail.

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Die Pleite-Saga

23/10/2011
Die Isländer machen eben aus Krisen immer das Beste. Aus dem Ausbruch des Eyjafjallajökull wurde so eine Tourismusattraktion; und aus der isländischen Bankenkrise erwuchs eine trotzige Unabhängigkeitserklärung an die Adresse der EU.

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Submission to the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Local Government

17/10/2011
Should local government be recognised in the Constitution? And would such recognition make a practical difference? International experience suggests that constitutional recognition alone does not determine the practical power and influence that local government authorities can exert. A comparison of the legal situation in Germany and Switzerland provides a good illustration.

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Should Australia’s population be controlled

02/10/2011
While population growth isn’t something to strive for in and of itself, it is nothing to be feared either. Our challenge is not how to stop or slow population growth; our challenge is to embrace it. That way, we can ensure that a growing Australia is a prosperous, interesting and liveable place for us all.

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Skilled arrivals work in Australia’s favour

07/09/2011
How can it be that multiculturalism works in Australia and fails in Europe? By understanding the crucial differences between Australian and European migration and integration policies, we can ensure that Australia remains a society that keeps integrating its migrants well.

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The European tragicomedy

06/09/2011
The attempt to make integration perfect has turned Europe into a disaster scene. Not even the Germans, with their inbuilt preference for tragedy over comedy, can be happy about this. And with their greatest ever humourist now gone, there is not much left to laugh about. For what lies ahead the Germans really need a sense of humour.

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