The Indigenous Economy INDG3003 Course Outline Second Semester 2015 ___________________________________________________________________________ This unit deals with the role of Indigenous people in the Australian economy. Current social and economic policy focusses on the high levels of disadvantage experienced by many Indigenous Australians today. The course analyses the economic history of how Indigenous modes of production have been transformed from a hunter gatherer economy into an Indigenous economy that is increasingly integrated into the modern capitalist economy. The course is an example of research-led teaching as it draws on 25 years of economic research from the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research. Course Convener: Boyd Hunter Email: boyd.hunter@anu.edu.au 1 Teaching staff (Lecturer/Tutor) Boyd Hunter Room 2153, Copland Building #24 Phone: 6125 8207 Email: boyd.hunter@anu.edu.au Boyd Hunter is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research. His research interests include: Indigenous business, discrimination, labour economics, poverty research and social policy . Office hours: Students can drop in any time or make an appointment. NOTE: The cover illustrations on the first page of this course outline are available from the National Library of Australia. The painting on the top left is by Joseph Lycett, ‘Aborigines using fire to hunt kangaroos’ north of Port Jackson, c. 1820, whereas the photo on the right is of the Timberry family business in La Perouse, Sydney, c. 1963. More photos of the Timberry business can be found at the National Library of Australia Catalogue Collection. The photo on the bottom right is another proto Aboriginal entrepreneur from La Perouse, c. 1930. 2 Course Description Course title: THE INDIGENOUS ECONOMY Course code: INDG3003 This unit deals with the role of Indigenous people in the Australian economy. Current social and economic policy focusses on the high levels of disadvantage experienced by many Indigenous Australians today. The course analyses the economic history of how Indigenous modes of production have been transformed from a hunter gatherer economy into an Indigenous economy that is increasingly integrated into the modern capitalist economy. Aborigines have been living in Australia for over 50,000 years and the Indigenous economy has sustained their culture and society for that whole period. Torres Strait Islanders, Australia’s other Indigenous peoples, have a unique history and economy, which it is important analyse and understand. This course seeks to use a range of basic economic concepts, such as scarcity, opportunity costs, supply, demand, and comparative advantage, to understand the nature and operation of that economy and to critically assess various policy options for effectively addressing the significant socioeconomic challenges facing Indigenous Australians in the modern economy. The inherent complexities of these challenges means that students will be also exposed to a range of insights from other disciplines (e.g., philosophy, anthropology, demography and political science) to assess effective policy options that are likely to require a combination of equity or fairness considerations with an efficient allocation of resources. Notwithstanding the range of theoretical lenses used to analyse the Indigenous economy, students will engage with core economic ideas with a view to understanding policy options for improving Indigenous economic outcomes vis-à-vis other Australians. Throughout the unit, we will use also comparative research techniques to analyse basic economic concepts and historical context to analyse the taken-for-granted assumptions about the role of Indigenous people in the economy. This third-year unit is taught as part of the Indigenous studies major in the College of Arts and Social Sciences and is eligible for credit for the economic component of the Bachelor of Philosophy, Political Science and Economics. Speakers will discuss the practical challenges involved in generating research and knowledge. Throughout the unit, students will have ample opportunity to discuss issues with lecturers and tutors, both formally and informally. The course will be taught in Semester Two 2015. Please see the Course Schedule below for more information. _______________________________________________________________________ Wattle resources on the web Students in this course are encouraged to check Wattle at least once a week to access a range of learning resources, including lecture notes, tutorial materials and additional readings. The Wattle site will also provide details of your weekly tutorial work. 3 Mode of Delivery and Workload Students are expected to manage their workload to allocate even time to their courses in line with their enrolment. For full time study, this is equivalent to an average of 10 hours per course per week. Lectures will be two one-hour weekly meetings and held at: Thursday, 2.00-4.00pm Venue, Jon Altman Room At the ANU, lectures begin at 5 minutes past the hour and finish no later than 5 minutes before the hour. This is to allow you to move comfortably from one class to another. Lectures will be always available on Wattle. However, these materials are not a substitute for attending lectures. Tutorials will be one hour and held at: Thursday, 4-5pm Boyd Hunter Jon Altman Room Depending on the number of students enrolled in the course another tutorial may be arranged. If a second tutorial is required students and tutors will negotiate suitable times during the first lecture. Email Boyd to discuss your options if you cannot make that lecture. We treat tutorials as forums where you can discuss any matters of concern about the readings, about the lectures and about the course in general. While we are prepared to adopt any tutorial format that the class chooses, our own preference is for an unstructured tutorial format. We expect you to attend all tutorials. Failure to attend more than four tutorials can render you liable to fail the course. Tutorial work forms an important part of the course’s learning processes. Keep the relevant lectures in mind when you do your reading and when you think about the tutorial questions. The lectures each week will usually contextualise the learning outcomes for the following week’s tutorials. This allows you a week to think about the lecture and do the prescribed readings for your tutorial along with answers to the set questions, or any other requirements for that week. 4 Learning outcomes Upon successful completion of the requirements for this course, you will have the knowledge and skills to: 1. Explain basic economic concepts relevant for Indigenous Australia (e.g. scarcity, opportunity costs, supply and demand, comparative advantage, welfare and policy evaluation); 2. Critically assess the historical value and relative importance of resources (i.e., land, labour and capital) in ongoing Indigenous development; 3. Distinguish between sunk costs and opportunity costs and their respective roles in addressing Indigenous disadvantage; 4. Categorise, and attempt to theorise, the role of supply-side and demand-side factors in Indigenous economic development; 5. Compare and contrast Indigenous involvement in various sectors in order to identify the comparative advantage of Indigenous Australians; 6. Critically assess alternate arguments for efficiency and equity in Indigenous economic development; 7. Explain the linkages and tensions surrounding Indigenous economic development through written analysis and/or oral presentation. Students with Disabilities If you have a disability that affects your studies and needs special provision you must provide the course coordinator with a corroborative statement at the beginning of the course, either from a health professional or the University Counselling Service, indicating the special arrangements requested. The ANU Disability Support Unit may also provide assistance. By informing the course coordinator as early as possible, the possibility is improved of modifying the course to suit your needs better. 5 OVERVIEW OF LECTURES, TUTORIALS AND READINGS LECTURE 1, Thursday 23 July: Why study the Indigenous economy? Boyd Hunter This first lecture introduces the course, its purpose and objectives, and then provides a brief overview of Australia’s Indigenous peoples, examining early hunter-gatherer modes of subsistence and the economic history that lead to the current Indigenous engagement in the economy. Analysis of Indigenous economy provides practical examples of how economics can be used in a range of circumstances. The course will illustrate some of the limitations of economic policy & demonstrate the need to understand historical, social and cultural contexts if the ongoing high levels of Indigenous disadvantage are to be addressed. This lecture also introduces one of the lesser known aspects of Australian economic history to demonstrate that the Indigenous economy has been a part of the world economy before the British colony was established in Port Jackson in 1788. The remainder of the lecture outlines the main research topics that will be analysed throughout the course. • Readings Austin-Broos, D. 2005. ‘Introduction’ in D Austin-Broos & G Macdonald (eds), Culture, economy and governance in Aboriginal Australia (proceedings of a workshop of the Academy of Social Sciences), Sydney University Press, Sydney, pp. 1–5. See e-brick. Hunter, B.H. 2015. ‘The Aboriginal Legacy’, Chapter 4 in Simon Ville and Glenn Withers, The Cambridge Economic History of Australia, CUP, Cambridge, especially 73–85. Online resources Historical and social context for the cover illustration for this course outline. Also see the Australia Dictionary of Biography entry on Emma Timbery Closing the Gap Clearinghouse (explore this website which will provide useful research resources for many Indigenous issues throughout the course) Discussion questions This week’s tutorial will orient students to the course and will pose a few critical questions for students of this course: What is the Indigenous Economy? Is it sensible to talk about it as a separate Indigenous economy separate from the international or national economy? We will also briefly consider some examples of threshold economic concepts in the context of Indigenous economy (e.g., scarcity, sunk costs, opportunity costs, supply, demand, externalities and comparative advantage). Finally assessment processes will be outlined and timelines for essays, briefing documents and associated presentations will be discussed. LECTURE 2, Thursday 30 July: The hunter-gatherer economy Boyd Hunter This lecture introduces the evolution of the hunter-gatherer economy in Australia. It has been historically argued that Aboriginal society rejected agricultural modes of production in favour of hunting and gathering which lead to what Marshall Sahlin has characterised as the ‘original affluent society’. Over time more sophisticated understanding of Aboriginal economy emerged with natural resources being managed by the use of fire and other technology (the former being referred to as ‘fire-stick farming’). Economic Anthropology analyses production, consumption and distribution, but the underlying emphasis is on understanding the 6 replication of social relationships. These anthropological insights may have implications for ongoing Indigenous engagement in the modern economy and we will return to them later in the course. The focus of this lecture is on the period before European settlement in 1788. • Readings Sahlins, M. 1972. Stone Age Economics (New York: Aldine Publishing Company), pp.1–39. The chapter, ‘The Original Affluent Society’. • Supplementary readings/DVD Harari, Y.N. 2014. Sapiens: a brief history of humankind, Harvill Secker, London, (Chapter 5, History’s biggest fraud, pp.77–97). See e-brick. Thorne, A and Raymond, R. 1989. Man on the Rim, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, pp. 49–69. Alternative sources (if bandwidth issues for downloading large files): Book — Call Number CHIFLEY DU28.T56 1989 (On 2 hour reserve) Also see e-brick. DVD 1, Episode on Hunter-gatherers— Call Number MENZIES GN590.T56 2009 (On 2 hour reserve) • Online resources Gammage, B. 2011. The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines Made Australia (Sydney: Allen & Unwin). Chapter 1 only. Mulvaney, D.J. and White, J.P. 1988. Australians to 1788 Fairfax, Syme & Weldon Associates, Sydney (Carmel Schrire’s book review only … not the whole book) Discussion questions Discuss the following question: Is economics an alien concept to customary ‘Indigenous culture’? This course does not require fieldwork, but it is desirable that you familiarise yourself with huntergatherer lifestyles by looking at some audio visual material of customary activities (e.g., Alan Thorne’s excellent 1988 documentary ‘Man on the Rim’—see DVD). This week’s tutorial will reflect on some of the material in that documentary and have a brief viewing. Lecture 3, Thursday 6 August: Aborigines in Early Colonial Australia: ‘The Economics of the Takeover’ Boyd Hunter The sub-title of this lecture is taken from a chapter in Noel Butlin’s 1993 book Economics of the Dreamtime, which introduces a range of core economic issues for Aborigines and settlers in early colonial Australia. Butlin describes how the economic varied within colonial and Aboriginal societies. For Aborigines it is important to recognise the proximity to the colonial frontier and the extent of interactions with the colonists; For colonists, we should distinguish between, convicts, emancipists, free settlers and whether they had access to land and capital. For example, settlers with large properties had need for local Aboriginal to run their establishments (often run in absentia). European workers and owners of small properties had different incentives as they relied largely on their own labour. Demography, which is classified as Labour Economics in the Journal of Economic Literature codes, has an important role to play in explaining the mass depopulation of the Aboriginal population in the late 18 th and early 19th centuries. Frontier violence is also likely to have played a role in the reduction of the Aboriginal population. While such violence may be due racism and cultural misunderstandings between the two groups, we need to understand that economic incentives also have a role to play. 7 • Readings Butlin, N.G. 1993. Economics of the Dreamtime: A Hypothetical History, CUP, Cambridge, pp.205– 14 (Chapter 25 on The Economics of Takeover). — Call Number CHIFLEY DU120.B88 1993 (On 2 hour reserve) Also see e-brick. Hunter, B.H. and Carmody, J. 2015. ‘Estimating the Aboriginal population in early colonial Australia: the role of chickenpox reconsidered’, Australian Economic History Review, published online first 29 May, DOI: 10.1111/aehr.12068, pp.1–28. • Supplementary readings Lloyd, C 2012. ‘Settler Economies and Indigenous Encounters: The Dialectics of conquest, Hybridization, and Production Regimes’, in Fijn, N, Keen, I, Lloyd, C, Pickering, M (eds) Indigenous Participation in Australian Economies II, ANU E-Press, Canberra. • Online resources The landscape of a colonial city Discussion questions for tutorial (based on previous weeks lecture) Why did agriculture spontaneously arise in many places across the globe, but not in Australia? Aborigines knew of the proto agricultural practices in Papua New Guinea but chose not to adopt that mode of production ... Discuss? Did Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders live in the ‘original affluent society’? Are there any implications of social and economic organization of pre-contact hunter gatherer society for ongoing participation in a modern capitalist economy? Lecture 4, Thursday 13 August — Dispossession, neglect and on-going process of recognition Boyd Hunter This lecture provides a brief history lesson that illustrates the main events underlying dispossession, neglect and on-going process of recognition. Physical dispossession of Indigenous people occurred through the disease, resource loss and frontier violence that continued into the early 20 th century. One of the responses to frontier violence by settlers was to set up legislation and Institutions to ‘protect’ Aborigines. However, these institutions were set up by the state and reflected the interests of settler society, which more often than not ignored the expressed interests of Indigenous people. Having been marginalised comprehensively by ‘white’ Australian society by being excluded from many social, political and economic processes, it is important to reflect on the implications of this history for the enhanced participation of Indigenous people in national life. The next opportunity for considering Indigenous position in Australian society is the proposed referendum on recognizing Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders within the Constitution. While the discussion focuses on the processes that reinforce economic exclusion, lecture will also reflect on the median voter models in order to highlight some political constraints that may limit the ability to address historical neglect of policies that were by definition discriminatory. • Readings Davis, M. and Williams, G. 2015. Everything you Need to Know About the Referendum to Recognise Indigenous Australians, NewSouth, Sydney, pp.47–76. — Call Number LAW JF497.A8.D38 2015 (On 2 hour reserve) Also see.e-brick. 8 • Supplementary readings Hunter, B.H. 2005. ‘The role of discrimination and the exclusion of Indigenous people from the labour market’ in D Austin-Broos & G Macdonald (eds), Culture, economy and governance in Aboriginal Australia (proceedings of a workshop of the Academy of Social Sciences), Sydney University Press, Sydney, pp.79–83; pp. 91–4. See e-brick. • Online resources Australian Human Rights Commission on Constitutional Recognition. Incomplete list of laws concerning Indigenous Australians (Wikipedia) Indigenous Law Resources-Timeline—more complete list of legal developments affecting Indigenous people. Median voters and Hotelling’s model of location Recognise Reconciliation Discussion questions for tutorial (based on previous weeks lecture) This tutorial revisits last week’s lecture on the main issues for the Aboriginal population in the early colonial period, but ends with a more detailed discussion of the ‘Economics of the Takeover’ (Butlin 1993). The questions covered include: Did small pox and other diseases spread from the northern coast to southern parts of the continent or vice versa? How important was the role of other diseases? How credible are the hypothetical histories of the Aboriginal population constructed by Butlin and others? What, if anything, do they contribute to the economic history of Australia? Is the role of frontier violence discounted in Butlin-based population trajectories? Were economic incentives important in frontier violence? How important were Indigenous people as a source of labour for the nascent colony? Lecture 5, Thursday 20 August: — Social exclusion & Indigenous poverty in contemporary Australia Boyd Hunter Indigenous Australians have been on the outside of Australian society since British colonised the continent. While there have been some periods of economic engagement, social exclusion in political, social and other domains has led to a situation of multifaceted poverty that is deeply ingrained in the behaviour of Indigenous peoples. Cumulative causation can lead to a situation where systematic exclusion from the labour market and educational institutions mean that Indigenous people are not well placed to successfully engage in the socioeconomic system, which reinforces prejudices of non-Indigenous people and this further reduces the prospects of Indigenous Australians (by exacerbating the experiences of discrimination). Social exclusion and poverty are hard to measure because of the unique social circumstance and kinship structures of Indigenous people, however the real challenge for policy-makers is to break the processes of discrimination and cumulative causation that reinforce Indigenous disadvantage. If one acknowledges that Indigenous interests may be legitimately different from those of policy makers, then it is clear that social inclusion is not necessarily just the absence of social exclusion. • Readings Hunter, B.H. 2007. ‘Cumulative Causation and the Productivity Commission’s Framework for Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage?', Australian Journal of Labour Economics, 10(3): 185–202. 9 Hunter, B.H. 2006. ‘Further Skirmishes in the Poverty War: Income Status and financial stress among Indigenous Australians’, Australian Journal of Labour Economics, 9 (1): 51–64. • Supplementary readings Hunter, B.H. 2007. ‘Conspicuous Compassion and Wicked Problems: The Howard Government’s National Emergency in Indigenous Affairs’, Agenda: A Journal of Policy Analysis and Reform, 14 (3): 35–54. Johns, G. 2008. ‘The Northern Territory Intervention in Aboriginal Affairs: Wicked Problem or Wicked Policy?’, Agenda: A Journal of Policy Analysis and Reform, 14(3): 65–84. Hunter, B. 2008. ‘Is Policy the Problem or the Solution for Indigenous People?: A Rejoinder to Gary Johns’, Agenda: A Journal of Policy Analysis and Reform, 15( 3): 95–97. • Online resources Jordan, K. and Hunter, B.H. 2009. 'Indigenous social exclusion and inclusion: what are people to be included in, and who decides?’, Impact, Spring: 18–21. Discussion questions for tutorial (based on previous weeks lecture) What are the prospects for a successful referendum proposal to recognise Indigenous people in the Australian constitution? Is it a purely symbolic issue or does it have implications for the Indigenous economy or the willingness of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders to participate in national life? How might history affect social and economic behaviour? Lecture 6, Thursday 27 August: — Land and Indigenous people: More than a factor of production Boyd Hunter Classical economics focusses its analysis on three factors of production: Land, Labour and Capital. The next three lectures explore the significance of these factors in the context of the Indigenous economy. Indigenous people have a special relationship with land. It is an integral part of Indigenous culture and cosmology, ontology and epistemology. Indigenous landholders have often adopted innovative approaches to protect the natural and cultural values of their land. Indigenous estate—making up over 20 per cent of the Australian land mass—covers vast areas of relatively intact land. The Indigenous estate contains some of the highest conservation priority lands in Australia. Indigenous land is more than a factor of production because economic valuations that only take into account future income and streams of environmental ‘services’ will ignore the spiritual and cultural significance to the traditional owners. This connection to country is recognised in the evolution of Native title that arose from the Mabo and Wik decisions of the High Court. The limited and Indigenous-specific nature of the property rights conferred under native title arrangements have implications for economic development and environmental management. • Readings Schlager, E. and Ostrom, E. 1992. ‘Property-Rights Regimes and Natural Resources: A Conceptual Analysis’, Land Economics, 68(3): 249–62. • Supplementary readings Altman, J., Buchanan, G. and Larsen, L. 2007. ‘The environmental significance of the Indigenous estate’, Discussion Paper 286, CAEPR, The ANU, Canberra. • Online resources Caring for Ngunnawal Country (Traditional Custodians of the Canberra region) 10 Listen to Phillip Adam’s interview with Jon Altman on Radio National’s Late Night Live about book Altman, J and Kerins, S. 2012 People on country : vital landscapes Indigenous futures, Federation Press, Sydney. The environmental significance of the Indigenous estate: High resolution maps from Altman, Buchanan and Larsen (2007)—see reference above. North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance Ltd (NAILSMA) Working on Country Discussion questions for tutorial (based on previous weeks lecture) Is cumulative causation a useful notion in the context of Indigenous disadvantage? Why might Indigenous poverty be different to other Australian poverty? Is policy the problem or solution for Indigenous people? Discuss the relative merits of the concepts of social exclusion or social inclusion. What is a deficit-based mindset in the thinking about Indigenous issues? Lecture 7, Thursday 3 September — Capital: The role of Indigenous and other Australian businesses Boyd Hunter Capital is a potentially important asset that can accumulate and contribute substantially to the means of production within the Indigenous economy. The history of dispossession and social exclusion means that there has been fewer opportunities for accumulation of wealth that could contribute to the financial resources to setting up businesses. In the last two decades there has been substantial growth in the number of Indigenous businesses. Hunter (2015) demonstrates that that Indigenous businesses are 100 times more likely to employ Indigenous workers than other Australian businesses. Indigenous businesses often compete in the open market to purchase inputs and to sell outputs. However, the motivation of Indigenous businesses is more complicated than that of other businesses in that Indigenous owners and managers are grounded in their community. That is, their objective function may include non-profit related factors and necessitate the need for a tradeoff between commercial and community issues. The lecture provides an economic analysis of Indigenous-owned hotels where the profit motive directly conflicts with well-being of the Indigenous community (i.e., increasing the excessive consumption of alcohol is not desirable for either the families concerned or the local community). • Readings Hunter, B. 2015. ‘Whose business is it to employ Indigenous workers?’, Economics and Labour Relations Review, forthcoming. Also available as CAEPR Working Paper 95, CAEPR, ANU, Canberra. • Supplementary readings Hunter, B. and Gray, M. 2013. ‘Workplace Agreements and Indigenous-Friendly Workplaces’, Indigenous Law Bulletin, 8(8): 7–13. • Online resources Andrew Forrest’s Report Creating Parity ‘New Indigenous Procurement Policy' Nintione maps of Indigenous businesses in remote areas Sonya Pierce’s video on Indigenous female entrepreneurs. (see video on wattle site). 11 Bryan Gallagher’s on Youtube video on his thesis on Canadian and Australian Indigenous Entrepreneurs Discussion questions for tutorial (based on lectures on 27 August & 3 September) Can the Indigenous estate be leveraged to facilitate development of remote communities? Amongst other things, the Northern Territory National Emergency Response Bill 2007 provided a legislative framework for land-tenure changes to enable town camps to become normal suburbs (with a view to facilitating wealth accumulation through home ownership). Does the definition of property rights matter (private property versus communal or native title)? Ranger programs provide vital employment opportunities for local Indigenous peoples and vital environmental services. Is there an ‘optimal level’ of public investment in such programs? The ‘New Indigenous Procurement Policy' that is due to be implemented 1 July 2015 is motivated by efficacy in employing Indigenous workers and is largely based on the recommendations in Andrew Forrest’s Report Creating Parity. In this tutorial we will also discuss the new policy in some detail in order to assess possible effects of increased demand for services from ‘Indigenous’ businesses. ——— MID SEMESTER BREAK——— Lecture 8, Thursday 24 September: — Labour: Discrimination and other issues for Indigenous employment Boyd Hunter Given that many Indigenous people have been alienated from their land, and not had a great deal of opportunity to accumulate capital, most Indigenous people are reliant on either selling their labour or receiving welfare and other payments from governments. This lecture analyses the main economic issues underlying Indigenous employment outcomes. Access to human capital is one important factor as are the social and cultural contexts facing local Indigenous populations. Unfortunately labour market discrimination remains an important constraint on many potential Indigenous workers who are more likely to have poor access to the labour market and receive worse pay and conditions even if they secure a job. In an economic sense discrimination reduces the demand for an individual’s labour, but this lecture analyses economic model of interaction between discrimination and labour supply that may have dynamic implications for the Indigenous labour market. • Readings Goldsmith, A. H., S. Sedo, et al. 2004. 'The labor supply consequences of perceptions of employer discrimination during search and on-the-job: Integrating neoclassical theory and cognitive dissonance', Journal of Economic Psychology 25(1): 15–39. Biddle, N., Howlett, M., Hunter, B. and Paradies, Y. 2013. ‘Labour Market and other Discrimination facing Indigenous Australians’, Australian Journal of Labour Economics, 16(1): 91–113. • Supplementary readings Hunter, B. Howlett, M. and Biddle, N. 2014. ‘Modelling Exposure to Risk of Experiencing Discrimination in the Context of Endogenous Ethnic Identification’, IZA Discussion Paper No. 8040, IZA, Berlin. • Online resources ACCI Indigenous Employment Strategy Framework for Industry Business Council of Australia's 2014 Indigenous Engagement Survey Report Jeff Borland’s Labour market snapshot #16: 12 A long-run perspective on ‘Closing the employment Gap’ Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) program Discussion questions Racial discrimination has been explicitly illegal since 1975, but few cases of labour market discrimination have been formally prosecuted. Why might it be hard to deal with discriminatory behaviour of employers? How does racial discrimination affect labour supply behaviour? Is there a role for RAPs in creating workplaces that Indigenous people want to work in? Are all Indigenous people equally likely to experience racial discrimination? Lecture 9, Thursday 1 October — Nudging Indigenous behaviour: A role for behavioural economics? Nicholas Biddle People are neither completely rational, nor completely random in their decisions. Rather, they exhibit predictable biases that not only make it less likely that they will achieve their own stated desires, but also complicate the design and efficiency of public policy. These are some of the insights of the emerging applied behavioural sciences that combine theories and techniques from disciplines like economics, sociology, psychology and anthropology. With some notable exceptions, these insights from the applied behavioural sciences have not always filtered through to policy formulation. Policy related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) Australians is one example in Australia of an area where insights from the applied behavioural sciences have the potential to improve the quality of policy decisions. A relatively large amount of government funds is spent on Indigenous people reflecting a relatively high degree of health and socioeconomic disadvantage. There is therefore a greater need to understand the patterns and factors associated with decisions made by Indigenous people. In order to improve the effectiveness of Indigenous policy by incorporating insights from the behavioural sciences. This lecture provides an overview of the: • Main biases revealed by recent empirical and experimental research; • Applicability, or lack thereof, of this research to the Indigenous Australian context; • Policy implications of this research; and • Gaps in the understanding of the behaviour and decisions of the Indigenous Australians. • Readings Shafir, E., ‘Introduction’ in Shafir, E. 2015. (ed) The Behavioural Foundations of Public Policy, Princeton University Press, Princeton, pp.1–9. Biddle, N., 2014. ‘Developing a Behavioural Model of School Attendance: Policy Implications for Indigenous Children and Youth’, CAEPR Working Paper 94, CAEPR, The ANU, Canberra. • Online resources TED talks on behavioural economics Discussion questions Do Indigenous people behave like the archetypal homo economicus assumptions that see people as rational and narrowly self-interested actors? Is there such a thing as ‘black fella time’ (or in the vernacular of economics, a different rate of time preference for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people)? Is there a tension between a policy that nudges Indigenous people’s behaviour to a mainstream standard and self-determination or a fundamental respect for an Indigenous world-view? 13 Lecture 10, Thursday 8 October — Welfare conditionality: The case of income management Matthew Gray This lecture provides an overview of the findings of a major evaluation of income management in the Northern Territory and links the policy to broader developments of new forms of welfare conditionality that are emerging across the world. • Readings Bray, J.R., Gray, M., Hand, K., and Katz, I. 2012. Evaluating New Income Management in the Northern Territory: Summary Report, Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Canberra. • Supplementary readings Bielefeld, S. 2012. 'Compulsory income management and Indigenous Australians: delivering social justice or furthering colonial domination?', University of New South Wales Law Journal, 35(2): 522– 62. Leigh, A. 2009. What Evidence should Social Policymakers Use?, Australian Treasury Economic Roundup, 1: 27-43. • Online resources Evaluation of the Child Protection Scheme of Income Management and Voluntary Income Management Measures in Western Australia (September 2010) Final Evaluation Report (September 2014)- Full Report Discussion questions Can policy evaluations be credible if not designed before the policy intervention? Critically evaluate the economic rationale for imposing restrictions on how welfare recipients spend their government benefits? What are the alternative economic mechanisms for changing patterns of expenditure? Lecture 11, Thursday 15 October: Case studies: Mining & Indigenous art industries Boyd Hunter Mining booms could potentially create many jobs for Indigenous people, especially those who live close to thriving mines. However, many Indigenous people or commentators are skeptical of the benefits of booming mining industry. Local wages may be high during a boom, but so too are the local prices even if Indigenous people managed to secure work in the mining sector. Of course when the resource’s boom abates, then any economic benefits of the mining boom may prove to be transitory. Economic benefits of an industry for Indigenous communities may be correlated with the overall buoyancy of the sector, but the externalities associated with that sector may linger on. For mining sector, the failure to manage the environmental risk of mines can lead to devastating and long lasting negative impact on the land. Given the significance of the land to Indigenous culture and spirituality, policy-makers need to closely monitor the environmental degradation from mining activities. Indigenous art has recently experienced a decline in demand sometimes associated with the ‘global financial crisis’; However in contrast to mining, Indigenous art industry is likely to be associated with positive externalities arising from cultural maintenance and community wellbeing. Indeed, those externalities provide the rationale for direct and indirect government support given to community art centres over the years. 14 • Readings Langton, M. 2010. ‘The resource curse: New outback principalities and the paradox of plenty’, Griffith Review, 28 (Still the Lucky Country?): 46–62. • Supplementary readings Cleary, P. 2011. Too Much Luck—the mining boom and Australia’s future Black Inc. Publishing, Collingwood, pp. 125–43. See e-brick. Hunter, B. Howlett, M. and Gray, M. 2014. ‘The Mining Boom and Indigenous Socio-economic status’, Working Paper 93, CAEPR, The ANU, Canberra. • Online resources Aboriginal perspectives on Mining Some context for Jabiluka mine controversy and 2007 ABC radio interview on possible re-opening of mine by. Despite a toxic spill, Rio Tinto did reopen the Ranger mine at Jabiru (not far from Jabiluka). Nintione: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Economies Paul Cleary—The Boom: Native owners or mining companies: who benefits?, The Conversation, 17 June 2011 —'Riding our resources 'dumb luck' to ruin', The Australian, 6 August 2001. YouTube: Pigovian taxes and subsidies Discussion questions Is there a resource curse for Indigenous communities arising from the mining boom? If you think that the resource curse is real, is it associated with problems associated with resource allocation, distribution, or even some ‘distortion’ in political processes? How important are the externalities for Indigenous communities associated with the mining and arts sectors? Do they warrant further interventions (eg, Pigovian taxes or subsidies)? Lecture 12, Thursday 22 October: The moral economy and the hybrid economies Boyd Hunter The earlier lectures introduced the term ‘moral economy’ which has been used by anthropologists to understand the role of economic activity in replicating social relationships. Peterson's 'moral economy', where acknowledge and reaffirm social relationships among extended networks of kin through giving and receiving things including money, labour, time and commodities, is much more focused on the distribution and consumption side of things (& is often associated with the term 'demand-sharing'). Jon Altman has put forward the hybrid economy model of production that is motivated in terms of a Venn Diagram that explores three overlapping sets: market or private sector (eg, arts industry or harvesting of commercial wildlife for sale), state sector (eg, public sector employment) and a customary sector (eg, hunting, gathering and fishing, but also customary management of natural resources).This is really just a description of reality, which is unlikely to contradicted by evidence. Note that public sector does not solely refer to public servants but can include economic activity underwritten by subvention of public moneys (including the former CDEP scheme payments that can be characterized as welfare). The hybrid economy model has been criticised by anthropologists as being superficial as it does not facilitate understanding Indigenous activities or preferences (a criticism that can be made of many economic models). Another criticism is that the model does not predict economic behaviour, but just describes reality more or less accurately. A satisfying economic model would make claims 15 about how the three sectors interact with one another. For example, how does customary knowledge and practices interact with the value generated in the market sector, say in Indigenous art or even an artificial markets such as evolving carbon markets? • Readings Curchin, K. 2015. “Two visions of Indigenous economic development and cultural survival: The ‘real economy’ and the ‘hybrid economy’ ”, Australian Journal of Political Science, DOI: 10.1080/10361146.2015.1049976 Peterson, N. 2005. What can the pre-colonial and frontier economies tell us about engagement with the real economy? in D Austin-Broos & G Macdonald (eds), Culture, economy and governance in Aboriginal Australia (proceedings of a workshop of the Academy of Social Sciences), Sydney University Press, Sydney, pp.7–15. See e-brick. • Online resources A recent articulation of Altman’s hybrid economy model (NB discussion around Figures 13 and 14) Discussion questions Is the hybrid economy model merely descriptive or does it help policy-makers to understand economic and social relationships of Indigenous Australian? The hybrid economy model is effectively restricted to remote communities and may not have many implications for Indigenous people in urban areas. Does it also promote 'rent seeking behaviour'? How would you construct an economic model that facilitates understanding of the interactions between sectors? Would a formal three sector economic model of be more useful than a hybrid economy framework for policy prescriptions, but less relevant to understanding the complex social realities in Indigenous communities? Is the moral economy moral in any sense? Lecture 13, Thursday 29 October: The Indigenous economy in a globalised world—Course Review Boyd Hunter In this course we have studied historical processes and discussed a range of economic activities that could be construed as an Indigenous economy. There are a range of institutions and organisations that deal with Indigenous issues and peoples. Like the people that these institutions deal with, the main observation about the Indigenous economy is a diversity that defies easy characterization. For example, Indigenous organisations include profit and non-profit businesses that may or may not be incorporated (under a range of statutes). Some of these organisations deal with largely undifferentiated goods and services traded in a global market while other organisations deal with ‘intangibles’ such as Indigenous culture and identity ,or even at a more abstract level Indigenous rights and responsibilities. Indigenous businesses and entrepreneurs that deal with traded goods are particularly important within a capitalist system because if they are successful they can enhance Indigenous independence from governments. • Readings Altman, J. and Biddle, N. 2014. ‘Refiguring Indigenous economies: a 21st –century perspective’, Chapter 24 in Simon Ville and Glenn Withers (eds) The Cambridge Economic History of Australia, CUP, Cambridge, pp.530–55. • Supplementary readings Rowse, T. 2005. 'The Indigenous sector', in D Austin-Broos & G Macdonald (eds), Culture, economy and governance in Aboriginal Australia (proceedings of a workshop of the Academy of Social Sciences), Sydney University Press, Sydney, pp. 213–6. See e-brick. 16 Discussion questions This week we will revisit the questions asked at the beginning of the course. Is it sensible to talk about a separate Indigenous economy? Some politicians have used the term Indigenous industry to disparage the people who work and study with Indigenous peoples. However, it may be more sensible to talk about an Indigenous economic sector, with a distinctive identity and set of economic activities, that has active linkages with an increasingly globalised economy? Time will also be set aside in this tutorial to flag some of the issues that students are likely to encounter in the take-home exam. Assessment Overview Submission Date Assessment Item Feedback WEEK 5 (Friday 21 August) Comparative economic analysis From tutor after Week 6 tutorial 20% From tutor after Week 12 tutorial 30% WEEK 9-12 (From Thursday 1 October) 5 to 10 minute presentation of From tutor by email after the Briefing Document tutorial presentation 10% Wednesday 11 November Take home EXAM (a few short Available from CAEPR Office answer questions and a 2000after results published word Synoptic Essay) 40% WEEK 8 (Friday 24 September) Briefing Document Weight ___________________________________________________________________________ Submission of written work All assignments must be submitted on-line onto the Wattle site before the due date. This is your guarantee that you have submitted the essay by the due time as your time of submission will be recorded on Wattle. When uploading your assignment onto Wattle, please make sure you have cut and pasted the Assignment Cover Sheet onto the front of your assignment. The Assessment Cover Sheet is available on Wattle, under the relevant week’s tutorial. We prefer you to use the Harvard style referencing system for your work. A detailed description of this style can be found in the referencing document on Wattle. See https://academicskills.anu.edu.au/resources/handouts/referencing-style-guides 17 Please use at least 1.5 paragraph spacing to help your tutor write comments Assignments handed in after return date for that assignment will not be accepted, except under circumstances agreed to with the course convener in advance. Assignments can not be resubmitted after the submission date. ___________________________________________________________________________ ASSIGNMENT Comparative economic analysis (20%) due week 5 1 Due date: Friday 21 August (Week 5) Weighting: 20% Length: 1,500 words Learning outcomes: 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7 This is your first piece of written assessment. It is designed to find out two things: a) whether you have been able to engage with the issues covered in the course so far; and b) encourage you relate these issues to basic economic concepts. The set essay question is: Does the analysis of the basic economic concepts enhance our understanding of the evolution of Indigenous disadvantage since 1788? However, if students want to base their essay on an alternative question, they are welcome to address any tutorial question listed in the course outline between Weeks 2 and 5 (after consulting the lecturer), but the essay must demonstrate an established understanding of the core threshold concepts of the economics discipline. The word limit is set at 1,500 words. The essay is only weighted at 20 per cent of your total course assessment and the main criteria is the quality of the analytical reasoning in constructing an argument as to how basic economic concepts enhance our understanding of the Indigenous economy (e.g. comparative advantage, efficiency, economic development, equity, opportunity costs, scarcity, sunk costs, supply and demand). Diagrammatic representations of economic concepts are encouraged where applicable, but these must be accompanied by a suitable narrative that demonstrates the student understand the concept in question and is applying the underlying ideas appropriately. We should be able to return the assignment in Week 6. You are expected to use a few citations or references, but the limitations of the underlying literature will probably mean that the bibliography will be relatively short compared to most social science research essays. We are looking for you to take a position (i.e., make an argument linked to economic theories and concepts) and back up your claim with evidence from the literature where possible. 18 Your assignment will be returned with this marking criteria guide: See tutor P CR D HD Have you answered the question? Have you stated your argument? Have you backed up your argument with supporting evidence? Have you structured your prose effectively? Have you written your prose in a clear, concise and grammatically-correct manner? Have you found relevant materials? Is the relevance of the references demonstrated in the text? ASSIGNMENT Briefing document 2 Due date: Monday 28 September (Week 9) Weighting: 30% Length: 1,500 words Learning outcomes: 3–7 Students are to provide a ‘briefing document’ for an oral and visual presentation in an imagined meeting with the fictitious ‘Minister for Indigenous Economies’. The briefing document will be based on a specific and realistic issue facing policy-makers and will be identified and discussed by the lecturer in class (and provided on Wattle) Some class time will also be devoted during the tutorials between Week 6 and Week 8 to discussing the expectations with respect to these documents. You should consult the course essay-writing guide on Wattle. In addition, students are always encouraged to see their tutor or the Course Coordinator to discuss any problems with completing assessment tasks. In addition, In Week 6, a lecture will be devoted to finding sources for your essay, and in Week 8 a lecture will be devoted to writing an essay. You can submit an essay draft anytime up to one week before the submission date. A lecture devoted to the Marking Criteria will be held on Thursday 24 September (Week 8). Note that in contrast to many policy documents provided to actual Ministers, students are expected to provide a list of formal references consistent with a standard required of latter year undergraduate students. Week 12 will be devoted to handing back the briefing document. During this week students should nominate a time to see their tutor in order to receive 10 minutes feedback on their essay. 19 Your assignment will be returned with this marking criteria guide: See P tutor CR D HD Have you articulated your own argument? Have you answered the set question? Have you referenced authoritative and relevant sources? (and practiced academic honesty?) Have you presented your prose in a clear, structured, and grammatically correct manner? Would the argument convince a non-technical audience (that is, are the economic arguments translated into Plain English)? ASSIGNMENT Tutorial presentation of Briefing Document 3 Due date: Tutorials between Weeks 9–12 Weighting: 10% Length: N/A Learning outcomes: 2, 8 The ‘briefing document’ prepared for Assignment 2, that involved an imagined meeting with the Minister for Indigenous Economies, will be presented to tutorial group (using oral and visual modes of communication). Students must identify critical information and arguments identified in Assignment 2, and present these in a format that can be easily understood by both the Minister and Indigenous peoples who may speak English as a second or third language. The Plain English presentations of the arguments contained in these documents will take place in the tutorial setting, and be at most 10 minutes in length (awarded 10% of the final marks). Your assignment will be returned with this marking criteria guide: See P tutor CR D HD Are both oral and visual modes of communications used well? Have you answered the set question? Would the argument convince a non-technical audience (that is, are the economic arguments translated into Plain English)? 20 ASSIGNMENT Final Exam (Take home exam, involving a synoptic essay) 4 Due date: Wednesday 9 November (exam period) Weighting: 40% Length: 2,000 words Learning outcomes: 3–7 The final piece of assessment is a take-home exam that will consist of both a number of short questions that require students to use economic concepts appropriately in the context of the Indigenous economy and a longer synoptic essay. A good definition of a synoptic essay is provided by the Academic Skills and Learning Centre: 'Synoptic essay … is usually an overview of your understanding of the major themes studied in the unit/subject (and within the discipline context), often indicating how your understanding of the themes has developed over time ...'. A synoptic essay question will be revealed posted on Wattle on Sunday 8 November 2015. At the last lecture, Boyd will provide his own summary of the course to assist you with the synoptic essay. Part of the last tutorial will be devoted to this task. It is the part of the assessment package dealing most exclusively with the lectures and tutorial content. You are only expected to draw examples from the course materials lectures, readings and videos - in answering the question. When you directly quote from the textbook or Powerpoints you MUST use quotation marks. Failure to do so will be deemed to be an act of plagiarism. However, if you refer to a reading, we will assume that you are referring to the course material. In this sense, your referencing doesn't have to be as formal as a research essay. Please check your other assignment and exam schedules during this period and manage your time carefully. No extensions can be granted on account of timetable clashes. You will have until 11 November to submit your Synoptic Essay. Your Synoptic Essay can be picked up after along with this marking criteria guide: N P CR D HD Have you used a broad range of course materials? Have you backed your claims up with evidence? Does the essay focus on the synoptic essay question? Have you demonstrated a sound understanding of the key concepts? Have you structured your prose in a clear, concise and grammatically-correct manner? ___________________________________________________________________________ 21 Penalties and extensions As per the policy for late submission of assessment approved by the CASS Education Committee, assignments submitted without an approved extension will attract a penalty of 5 per cent per day. The policy states: 1. Extensions will not be granted retrospectively, except in medical emergencies or on the advice of the Disability Services Centre. 2. Extensions will be granted only for medical conditions, bereavement, other compelling reasons or on the advice of the Disability Services Centre. Extensions on medical grounds require a medical certificate. 3. Extensions will normally not be granted because of conflicts with other study commitments, work commitments, holidays, family gatherings, competing assessment deadlines, sporting commitments or commitments to student organisations. 4. Even when an extension has been granted, assignments will normally not be accepted beyond the date when the assessment on that question/topic has been returned to other students enrolled in the course. If a student is unable to submit assessment by that time, alternative assessment may be set by the course coordinator. All applications for extension need to be made in writing to the academic contact for this course before the due date of the assignment. Students should not expect extensions longer than the period stated on a medical certificate or between when an application is made and the assignment is due (i.e., an application submitted on the day before the due date will receive a maximum of one day’s extension in addition to the period on a medical certificate). Applications should be submitted using the form available on the back of the assignment submission cover sheet. This can be found outside the Office of the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, 2nd Floor, Copland Building 24 (Rm 2147). The guidelines for extensions can be found here: http://cass.anu.edu.au/current-students/coursework-policy-and-guidelines/late-submissions-andextensions ___________________________________________________________________________ Special Consideration Students can also apply for special consideration for pieces of assessment or for their semester’s work under specific circumstances. The rules governing special consideration can be found here: https://policies.anu.edu.au/ppl/document/ANUP_009608 Applications can be sought from this site: https://policies.anu.edu.au/ppl/document/ANUP_000995 _________________________________________________________________________ 22 Code of Practice for Teaching and Learning In this course, we strictly abide by the ANU Code of Practice for Teaching and learning. It clearly outlines the rights, roles and responsibilities of students and academic staff: https://policies.anu.edu.au/ppl/document/ANUP_000726 Academic Honesty and Plagiarism http://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/assessments-exams/academic-honesty-plagiarism Academic honesty & plagiarism Academic honesty embodies the principle that a student's work is original and authentic and completed only with the assistance allowed according to ANU rules, policies and guidelines. In particular, the words, ideas, scholarship and intellectual property of others used in the work must be appropriately acknowledged. Breaches of academic integrity include plagiarism, collusion, the fabrication or deliberate misrepresentation of data, and failure to adhere to the rules regarding examinations in such a way as to gain unfair academic advantage. ITEM 1. What you need to know 1. At the beginning of your course Which citation method is used in each course. Where can you go to get more information or help if you have questions about how to cite correctly and what do you need to cite. Whether software might be applied to your assignments to detect plagiarism and /or collusion. 2. Before submitting your first assessment Exactly how you need to submit your work so there is no confusion about when and if you submitted correctly. How you need to attach the assignment cover sheet, especially if you have to submit electronic copies. Whether citations and bibliography count in your word limit. 3. Grading of your assessment What will happen if poor citation, restating, paraphrasing, copying, collusion or plagiarism has taken place. Getting appropriate feedback about if you have made any errors in citation or are still unsure of what to cite. Where you can get help on correct citation and how to better understand academic honesty before you have to submit the next assignment. ITEM 2. Top ten tips 1. Find out about ANU policies on academic integrity including plagiarism and examination policies. Ignorance is no excuse. 2. Read your College handbooks and course guides as they almost always include information about plagiarism and academic honesty. Some College procedures can also be found online. 3. When in doubt about anything, ask and ask early. Don't leave it until the assignment due date. Lecturers, tutors, College administration staff and support services are here to help. The staff from the Academic Skills & Learning Centre (ASLC) provide free advice, workshops and support. 4. Take advantage of resources specifically designed to assist students: o ASLC's online resources on referencing styles o ASCL's workshops, which include sessions on taking notes, referencing, and academic honesty the code of practice for student academic integrity o ASCL's one-to-one help through individual tutorials 23 o the guide on how to effectively evaluate online material found on this page. 5. Learn how to properly reference sources. Invest in a current edition of the proper citation and style manual(s) for your courses - remember that each College may have a different preferred citation system. If you are doing a double degree or courses across Colleges, you almost certainly will need to use different citation systems. Manuals can be purchased from The Co-op Bookstore located in Union Court, or borrowed from the ANU Library. Online guides are also available from ASCL or linked from your ANU College websites. 6. Cite all outside sources used, whether quoting, paraphrasing, or borrowing ideas. Referencing your sources enhances your work and adds credibility. Develop a way to always keep the source reference with your note taking as you research - even if it's simply cutting and pasting the URL of the site as you jot down notes. It's easy to copy and paste paragraphs and then forget where you got the information - trying to find it later is time consuming and really hard. 7. Information taken from the internet must also be attributed. Before using internet-based material, be sure to evaluate online material for authority, credence and currency. 8. Report academic dishonesty when you see it occur. It's not fair to you when others cheat. 9. Say no to people who encourage you to engage in plagiarism, or ask you to assist them in doing so. Don't let others use you or your work. You may find yourself caught up in a case of academic dishonesty which could have a serious impact on your future. 10. Academic misconduct can seriously jeopardise your academic career, your future, and, if you are an international student, your ability to stay in Australia to study. Your reputation is important. The ANU Academic Misconduct Rules 2014 can be found here: https://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2014L01785 If a case of academic misconduct is alleged, the following process will be initiated: https://policies.anu.edu.au/ppl/document/ANUP_000631 The following flowchart provides more graphic detail: https://policies.anu.edu.au/ppl/document/ANUP_001126 __________________________________________________________________________ Policy on Student Assessment (coursework) https://policies.anu.edu.au/ppl/document/ANUP_004603 24 Assessment Appeals If you genuinely believe you have received an inappropriate or incorrect result, there are steps you can take to have that result reviewed. This must be done within 30 working days of the formal notification of results. Your first point of contact should always be your tutor or the course convenor. http://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/assessments-exams/assessment-appeals __________________________________________________________________________ Academic Skills and Learning Centre https://academicskills.anu.edu.au/ The Academic Skills and Learning Centre (ASLC) offers ANU students free and confidential help with their academic work through individual consultations, workshops, courses, podcasts and handouts. Their aim is to assist students to develop the academic, critical thinking and communication strategies that are foundational to all scholarly activity. For ANU students, the ASLC offers: individual consultations workshops/courses online and print materials and publications the Language Exchange Program podcasts the Essay and Report Writing File The ASLC is located on the lower ground floor of the Pauline Griffin Building and is only closed on weekends and public holidays. ___________________________________________________________________________ 25