Politicians help unveil the first Cruze bodyshell at Elizabeth in 2010. Rather than picking industry winners, governments should focus on towns. Photo: AAP/GM Holden

Analysis

Govts should pick towns, not industries, as winners

Old-fashioned industry policy should be ditched in favour of a new approach designed to rejuvenate regional towns, write Richard Holden and Rosalind Dixon.

Opinion

Jimmy Barnes: Don’t blame the victims of economic change

Musician and working-class man Jimmy Barnes, whose first job was as an apprentice moulder with South Australian Railways, says young people growing up in struggling suburbs in the 21st century deserve a fair go.

Analysis

Economic lessons for Adelaide from the Phoenix rise

Twenty years ago, in the wake of the State Bank disaster, economist Richard Blandy was sent on a mission to the United States to discover the economic secrets of cities of similar size to Adelaide. Here, he revisits his trip to Phoenix, Arizona, and the lessons that have not been heeded in South Australia.

News

Economy records worst performance since the GFC

The economy shrank in the September quarter to post its worst performance since the 2008-2009 global financial crisis.

Analysis

SA needs less govt vision, more business evolution

The key underlying factor required to strengthen South Australia’s economy is for the state to become much more citizen and business-driven and much less State Government-driven, writes economics commentator Richard Blandy.