Local Government Overview
Analysis and writing
National Economics has the capacity to apply critical analysis to the economic and strategic issues that confront local government. Backed by its own intellectual property, databases and models, the reports and forecasts produced by National Economics combine a high level of understanding of the issues that face the client with high quality writing and production standards.
The complexity of reports can be tailored to clients needs from highly complex material for practitioners to simpler materials for the non professional. Reports include graphs, maps and diagrams to assist with communicating the findings in each report.
Economic modelling
National Economics has provided economic consulting services to local government for twenty years and has produced numerous reports and forecasts for its clients. This extraordinary productivity has meant that National Economics has built a considerable body of intellectual capital in terms of the expertise of its staff, the data sets, models and results of econometric analyses.
A major part of this capital is the Institute's IMP modelling suite, a range of powerful forecasting and analysis tools which give National Economics "leading edge" capability in national, state, regional and local area economic and business analysis.
Other formal models include:
- general forecasting models;
- micro-simulation models for assessing business and household level economic activity and the distributional consequences of policy changes;
- detailed industry modelling with forecasting sectors (130 industry sectors including road freight);
- international and trade models;
- economic activity "leading indicator" models;
- integrated regional models and forecasting covering all regions of Australia down to the Statistical Local Area level; and
- detailed household behavioural modelling covering 400 consumer expenditure categories linked to over 50 socio-demographic variables down to Censor Collector District (CCD or groups of 200 to 300 households) level.
Purpose built models are developed for specific consulting projects including occupational demand, privatisation, regional development, policy and strategy analysis, infrastructure planning, market research, cost-benefit analysis and the impact of major infrastructure projects and community events.
National Economics has an extensive suite of regional econometric models that are used to generate projections for employment and occupations down to the Statistical Local Area (SLA) level. The standard projections are by:
- four-digit ANZSIC industry; and
- four-digit ASCO occupational categories.
These standard occupational categories can be recast in six-digit ASCO projections.
Surveys and market research
National Economics has completed a wide range of projects involving strategy advice and analysis, projects which include the need for surveys, market research and analysis. National Economics has built considerable expertise in developing survey instruments and conducts these surveys via mail and telephone as well as face to face with the target group.