Australian businesses are failing to invest in cutting-edge technologies to improve their operations as fast as their peers overseas, with research revealing a lack of competitive pressure is hurting local firms and keeping prices higher for consumers.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg this week released the terms of reference for the Productivity Commission’s second five-yearly productivity review. Its last report, 2017’s, recommended a string of proposals including allowing competition to pharmacies, a trial of road user charges and improved governance around infrastructure projects.
Treasury’s research compared the performance of “global frontier firms” – those with the biggest improvements in productivity – with Australian businesses in the non-mining and non-financial market sectors. Retail work has changed through the pandemic with a large increase in home shopping. It may be one of the productivity changes started by COVID-19.
“The decline in dynamism and competitive pressures have substantially lowered the rate of firm-level productivity convergence, and therefore productivity growth,” the research found.
swrighteconomy So business want to make more money by paying less wages
swrighteconomy Let's Go Brandon