Structural Adjustment

Regional economies often experience rapid change, particularly those dominated by industries such as agriculture, manufacturing, tourism and resources, which are highly vulnerable to shifting global market conditions. Government responses to these crises have a chequered history, often offering issue-based, blanket solutions that don’t look to the long-term sustainability and adaptability of the community. There is widespread interest amongst decision makers in identifying the practical ways we can improve policy responses in this area.

The Regional Australia Institute and the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation undertook a joint project on structural adjustment policy in regional Australia. This project investigated structural adjustment primarily from a policy perspective, providing lessons for decision-makers. It applied a three step framework which identified: (1) the nature of structural adjustment; (2) the role of government, and; (3) adjustment outcomes from past experiences, to develop insights on how to better approach structural adjustment issues in the future.

The full report is available here.