Mr Howard also signalled there would be further weakening of workers rights, a review of competition policy and liberalisation of media ownership, but offered scant details.

BBC: Australia's 'empty' economic agenda

And it wants a programme of liberalisation and privatisation to promote competition, increase productivity and cut consumer-price inflation.

ECONOMIST: Italy and the G8 summit: A cavalier preparing to host the world | The

In the long run, liberalisation and competition will deliver lower electricity prices for companies and households alike.

ECONOMIST: Charge ahead

Moreover, the euro crisis is leading to more extensive reforms to repair battered public finances, increase liberalisation and bolster competition than would have seemed possible a few years ago.

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EU-American agreement, imbalance will grow, real competition will suffer in the medium term, and moves towards world liberalisation will, at best, creep along.

ECONOMIST: Schools and the state

The liberalisation that began in 1991 ushered in competition from imports and foreign investors.

ECONOMIST: Indian takeovers

Allan Asher, a former competition economist and now Energywatch's boss, highlights another problem: liberalisation may not have lowered prices as much as was hoped.

ECONOMIST: A liberalised market is put to the test

The liberalisation of air travel has increased competition between big hubs, especially in Europe and the Gulf.

ECONOMIST: Airport privatisation

First, global telecoms liberalisation has brought thousands of new companies into the competition, including carriers, resellers, aggregators and call-back operators.

ECONOMIST: Commoditising telecoms