Michael G. Porter

Michael G. Porter is an Australian academic economist who taught at the Australian National University (Canberra) and Monash University (Melbourne). In 1979, he set up a think-tank at Monash University, the Centre of Policy Studies (CoPS) [1] which advocated extreme free-market/no regulation views.[2] He is also the founding director of Tasman Institute from 1990-98[3]

Not to be confused with Michael Eugene Porter.

Early life

Michael Glenthorne Porter attended Scotch College, South Australia, was an undergraduate economics student and then tutor at Adelaide University, 1961-64. As an undergraduate he was Treasurer of the Student's Representative Council 1962-63, founding Treasurer of the ALP Club 1963 which replaced the Labour Club, a member of the three person economics Committee of national Young Labor, and a founding organiser of what became the Adelaide branch of the Australian Overseas Student Travel Service, visiting India in 1962-63. He was one of the 10 students invited to meet for an hour with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in the Lok Sabha. He is an Adelaide delegate to the National Union Australian University Students. Michael Porter finished his PhD in Stanford University in 1968.[4]

After his PhD, he was a visiting researcher at Simon Fraser University (Canada) between 1968-70 and the University of Essex, United Kingdom on a Canada Council Fellowship for part of that time in 1969-70. His research thesis was on the implications of extreme capital mobility on monetary autonomy and inflation control at the national level. The Canadian currency float in the 1950s was a useful case study; but the subsequent float of the Discount Margins (DM) in 1971 was his main focus when he later moved to Washington DC. He would later take a similar job with Reserve Bank of Australia in 1972-73.

Career

After his PhD, he worked with the International Monetary Fund where along with Pentti Kouri developed the Kouri-Porter model, the first reliable model of capital movements offsetting monetary policy on International Capital Flows and Portfolio Equilibrium.[5] He played a lead role in analysing and modelling the reasons why countries had to float the Discount Margins (DM) and open capital markets to restore control of the money supply and inflation. This monetary pressure came from US and global capital markets in the context of the Lyndon B. Johnson deficit funded Vietnam War.

After implementation of the German financial reforms Michael Porter was invited to be a Senior Adviser at Reserve Bank of Australia, International Department between 1972-73, as Australia battled the same imported inflation and exchange rate rigidity that plagued Germany and other financially open economies, emanating from the largely US (Vietnam) inflation.[4] He prepared papers for the international C20 meetings on monetary and capital market reform, where then head of the International Department in Reserve Bank of Australia, Bob Johnston (later Governor), and Deputy Secretary of Treasury John Stone, later Secretary of the Treasury, both attended.[4]

After the election of the Whitlam Labor Government in Dec 1972, Michael was a founding senior economic adviser with The Priorities Review Staff (PRS) of the new Prime Minister of Australia, based in Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet between 1973-75.[6] Austin Holmes, former Chief Economist of the was founding key part of the PRS assignment, with a staff of 10-20, was development of policy options, commentary on Cabinet Submissions by Ministers and preparation of comment on the long term forward estimates of expenditure and revenue and associated policies.interpreting the policies and alternatives and reviewing the associated forward estimates of the government and advising Ministers as to consequences and alternative economic and financing strategies.

In 1979 he was, after a year as Visiting Professor at Yale University, a Visiting Economist at the US Federal Board of Governors, International Department.

After publishing in journals, conferences and forming academic think tanks in the 1970-80s, typically on international economic integration, social reform and financial risks, Michael focused from the early 1990s on implementation and support for economic reform, investment banking, advisory work, significantly with seven international governments.

The state enterprise reform work, financial reform advice and other proposed infrastructure innovation was actively extended to New Zealand and the Victoria (Australia), and with a focus later 1990s was on many parts of Asia, with funded projects of the World Bank, Asian Development Bank Institute and Australian Aid. He became a frequent adviser to Reserve Bank of New Zealand and Treasury and particularly Finance Minister Sir Roger Douglas, who on retirement from Cabinet became Deputy Chairman of Tasman Institute and Tasman Asia Pacific under Michael as Executive Director. He formed Project Victoria with The IPA and advanced a raft of research, policy and implementation strategies for infrastructure reform, particularly in Victoria, and which became keen inputs to the economic strategy of the Kennett / Stockdale government in the lead up to and post the election of October 1992.

Building on the new 1990s pro-reform climate regarding infrastructure investment, and well structured regulatory reforms and public-private partnerships, there was a climate for similar reforms overseas, and Tasman Asia Pacific won work in a dozen or more countries in Asia and the pacific. then a dozen Asian countries with World Bank, ADB, and AusAID competitive funding received totalling in excess of $20 million via CoPS Monash, Tasman Institute and the Tasman Asia Pacific economics consultancy. Subsequently he was Research and Policy National Director with the Committee for Economic Development of Australia, with a focus including telecommunications and broadband, NBN, utilities reform general economic management and taxation.

Think-tanks in Australia

In 1990, the Australian Michael G Porter set up his second economic think-tank outside the University.

Tasman Institute

At the end of 1989, following an end to six years of competitively earned and generous Commonwealth funding for CoPS, and a politically blocked attempt to fund a not-for-profit Tasman University , Michael and some former CoPS colleagues left Monash University and raised funds from the private sector to form The Tasman Institute and an associated economic consultancy which became Tasman Asia Pacific. The Chairman of the new Tasman Institute and consultancy was Baillieu Myer AC, who had also been appointed by the Prime Minister to the earlier 1982 Centres of Excellence Committee of the Commonwealth Government. The Deputy Chairman of Tasman Institute was Sir Roger Douglas, former Minister of Finance in the New Zealand Government, and in whose policy reform discussions Michael, CoPS and staff of New Zealand Treasury had in many cases been actively involved. Several outstanding officers from New Zealand Treasury had also been seconded to CoPS in the mid 1980s. The work of CoPS thus continued in the Tasman entities absent Commonwealth funding, with existing and new research staff and projects targeted on key priorities in economic reform in Australia, New Zealand and Asia in particular [3].

The published Australian independent reform agendas that emerged from the new Tasman Institute embracing earlier CoPS work included Reform of State-Owned Enterprises in Victoria, Energy Pricing Issues in Victoria, National Priorities Project, (two volumes, Spending and Taxing I, Spending and Taxing II), Markets and Environment, New Strategies for Transport in Victoria. These were some of the key documents assembled for Project Victoria, preceding the 1992 election. This Project was jointly organised from 1990 with the Institute of Public Affairs. These documents and associated public conferences and meetings were widely publicised in the media and were influential in many forums in the 1980s [4].

The state enterprise reform work, financial reform advice and other proposed infrastructure innovation while originally focused on Victoria, New Zealand and Australia, a focus later in the 1990s was on many parts of Asia, with funded projects of the World Bank, The Asian Development Bank and AusAID. Michael had become a frequent adviser to New Zealand Reserve Bank and Treasury and particularly Finance Minister Sir Roger Douglas, who on retirement from Cabinet became Deputy Chairman of Tasman Institute and Tasman Asia Pacific under Michael as Executive Director [4].

Building on the new 1990s pro-reform climate regarding infrastructure investment, and well-structured regulatory reforms and public-private partnerships, there was a climate for similar reforms overseas, and Tasman Asia Pacific won work in a dozen or more countries in Asia and the Pacific. then a dozen Asian countries with World Bank, ADB, and AusAID competitive funding received totalling in excess of $20 million via CoPS Monash and Tasman Institute and the Tasman Asia Pacific economics consultancy[4]. Subsequently he was Research and Policy National Director with the Committee for Economic Development of Australia, with a focus including telecommunications and broadband, NBN, utilities reform general economic management and taxation[4].

The proposed Tasman University, while legally registered in Auckland, NZ, was blocked from Victorian and Australian registration by Commonwealth Minister of Education John Dawkins and the Victorian Labor Government. Though generously backed by international scholars who were keen to join in joint appointments, international and domestic business and community leaders and financiers and with the support of Baillieu Myer AC, Hugh Morgan AC, Richard Pratt, Rupert Murdoch and many others. Some of the most enthusiastic supporters were the Labour Prime Minister David Lange[4].

References
  1. https://www.copsmodels.com/monmod.htm
  2. "Centre of Policy Studies (CoPS)". Victoria University | Melbourne Australia.
  3. "Michael G. Porter | Australian Economist". michaelgporter.com. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
  4. "Michael G. Porter | Australian Economist". michaelgporter.com. Retrieved 2021-11-01.
  5. Porter, Michael G. (1974-05-01). "International Capital Flows and Portfolio Equilibrium". Journal of Political Economy. 82 (3): 443–467. doi:10.1086/260207. ISSN 0022-3808. S2CID 153691831.
  6. "The Whitlam economic guru sceptical of Shorten Labor". Australian Financial Review. 2019-05-14. Retrieved 2021-11-01.
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