This work investigates the critical economic and social policy decisions facing Australia as it approached the turn of the millennium. Wolfgang Kasper, a prominent economist, utilizes his background in international trade and institutional economics to analyze the structural rigidities of the Australian economy. The text argues for a shift toward market-oriented reforms, deregulation, and increased international competitiveness to ensure long-term national prosperity.

Experts in Australian economic history identify this text as a significant contribution to the neoliberal policy debates of the 1980s. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the author's clear commitment to free-market principles.