Preface and acknowledgements

Writing this book has been a team effort. Early on we decided to split the post-independence period into four, and we gave responsibility for each of the four periods to two authors: Manoj Pandey and I took the eighties, Rohan Fox and Maholopa Laveil the nineties, Martin Davies the noughties, and Kelly Samof and Dek Joe Sum the tens. We all provided comments on each other’s work. I provided the introduction and the three concluding chapters, and, more than once, revised the period chapters for consistency and completeness, with comments from my co-authors.

We are indebted for their research assistance and substantial inputs to Taylor Ey, John Howes, Bobby Kunda, Alyssa Leng, Luke McKenzie, Estelle Stambolie and Ajay Tambay. Thank you to Rani Kerin for her meticulous editing of the book.

I would also like to thank everyone who has provided comments and answered queries, and who has provided stimulating discussion and insights that have enriched this book, including colleagues at the Development Policy Centre and the School of Business and Public Policy; and, in particular, from these two institutions and from elsewhere: Michael Bourke, John Conroy, Colin Filer, Ross Garnaut, Modowa Gumoi, Matt Morris and Terence Wood. Paul Flanagan not only shared his wisdom but also made available to us copies of earlier budgets.

The Devpolicy Blog, which I edited from 2011 to 2023, has been an invaluable reference for the more recent years we cover, and I thank everyone involved with it.

I learnt a lot from my work from 2021 to 2023 on the Independent Advisory Group to the PNG Treasurer on the Central Banking Act and thank my colleagues in that group, Robert Igara, its chair, and Sir Wilson Kamit, who sadly passed away in January 2023.

This book is a product of the partnership between The Australian National University’s Crawford School of Public Policy and the University of Papua New Guinea’s School of Business and Public Policy. That partnership took off in 2013 and has been supported by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade since 2015. It has provided the basis for many fruitful collaborations, of which this book is one.

Economics is a male-dominated profession, and it shows in this book. That is a pity. But we are glad that the partnership between ANU and UPNG has been able to select three female UPNG economics graduates for further study at ANU. Two are already lecturers at UPNG and we look forward to the future contributions of all three.

Finally, as lead author, I take responsibility for the views expressed in this book and for any errors that remain.

Stephen Howes

31 December 2024