It is estimated that between eight and nine million people live in Papua New Guinea, but no one knows for sure. Honorary Associate Professors Mike Bourke and Bryant Allen from the Australian National University explain why PNG’s census was a failure and what can be done to avoid another potential flop this year.
The World Bank’s Doing Business indicators have become controversial. Paul Holden, Director of the Enterprise Research Institute, and Consultant for the Asian Development Bank Alma Pekmezovic analyse the accuracy of this tool in the Pacific Island nations.
Director of the Development Policy Centre, Stephen Howes, analyses the extraordinary growth of PNG’s government salary bill and explains why it’s a concern.
Papua New Guinea is raising tariffs at the same time it is hosting APEC, according to Rohan Fox, Stephen Howes and Maholopa Laveil. The ANU researchers say this is at odds with the APEC agenda.
In a slow economy getting jobs in the formal sector can prove difficult. But Rohan Fox, a Researcher at the Australian National University’s Crawford Policy Centre, says his research suggests that graduates of the University of Papua New Guinea do find employment.
Stephen Howes, Director of the Australian National University’s Development Policy Centre, has analysed the results of Business Advantage International’s long-standing annual PNG 1OO CEO Survey. He has drawn some insightful conclusions.
The PNG microfinance industry has the lowest loans-to-deposit ratio in the Pacific, according to Dek Joe Sum at the Australian National University’s Development Policy Centre. He argues the government needs to develop a more comprehensive policy to address the lack of lending.
Stephen Howes, Professor of Economics at ANU’s Crawford School of Public Policy, explains why it is that Pacific economies, unlike other developing economies, are so expensive.
The copper price has increased by about a quarter in 2017, although it is still below its 2013 highs. Stephen Howes, Director of the Development Policy Centre at ANU tells Business Advantage PNG that the boost in the copper price is important for Papua New Guinea, in particular, Ok Tedi.
The kina is more than 20 per cent overvalued, according to Marcel Schroder, a lecturer in economics at the Development Policy Centre in the Australian National University (ANU), speaking to a joint University of Papua New Guinea/ANU event in Port Moresby. One option is to introduce a dual exchange rate for a limited time.