Peer Review – an Australian

1. Peer Review – an Australian Blair Comley General Manager Business Tax Division Treasury

2. Three aspects of peer review • Peer Learning • Peer Support • Peer Pressure

3. Peer Learning • Learning in both directions • Need to understand the issues • ECB versus the Fed • Requires openness • Distributive versus integrative negotiation • Macroeconomic versus microeconomic • Micro requires more information

4. Peer Support • Vested interests • Counterparties are critical • Reviewer must have credibility • Domestic counterparty must be credible • Variations in domestic counterparties • Executive/Legislature • Units within the Executive • Different levels of government

5. Peer pressure • Weakest limb of peer review • Why do we disagree? • Different objectives • Different assessments of fact • Errors of logic • Distribution of power and information • Peer pressure is really another form of peer learning and support

6. Five conditions • High degree of trust and respect • Parties must share information • Analytical and administrative capacity • Peers legitimate in eyes of domestic constituents • Reviewed country counterparty legitimate in the eyes of domestic constituents

7. Regional integration • Five conditions may be easier or harder • Legal sanctions cause a problem • EU example

8. Conclusion • Need to focus on peer learning and support • Both are multidirectional • Peer review is fragile • A few people acting in bad faith can reduce information flows • Relationships matter • EDRC has met over 1000 times