A period spent outside the workforce should not affect a woman’s likelihood of working again, according to a report published by the Australian Productivity Commission.

Lixin Cai’s “Work Choices of Married Women: drivers of change”, released this week, showed that the common labour force trend of “state dependence” did not apply to married Australian women.

New Zealand exporters face less regulation and lower costs than their Australian counterparts, a new report says.

The Australian Productivity Commission has released the report, Performance Benchmarking of Australian and New Zealand Business Regulation: Food Safety.

Among its findings are that Australia’s charges for exporting are generally higher, its fee structure more complex and its regulatory system for exports less reliant on economical electronic processing than New Zealand’s.

Those in high paid positions might do well to keep an eye on an Australian report due out today.

The Australian Productivity Commission’s executive remuneration report is due to be given to the Australian Government later today and it could influence what move New Zealand takes on the issue.

The commission was tasked with conducting a public inquiry into the regulatory framework around remuneration of directors and executives. It was sparked by public outcry over the large amounts of money being paid to high-powered execs before and in some cases during the recession.