• Date: Wednesday 22 July 2026
• Duration: 5:30pm – 6:30pm
• Category: Public Lecture
• Location: Lecture Theatre 1, Melbourne Business School, 200 Leicester St, Carlton VIC 3053
• Contact: [email protected]
• Read more here!
• Register here!

The Hidden Cost of Buying Local: Public Procurement and Job Creation

Public procurement, government spending on goods, services, and infrastructure, accounts for roughly 10–15% of GDP in most advanced economies and represents one of the most powerful levers of industrial policy available to governments. Many countries have adopted domestic content requirements and ‘buy local’ preferences in their procurement rules, from the Buy American Act in the United States to Local Jobs First programs in Australia and equivalent schemes across Europe. This lecture reviews the economic evidence on the consequences of such policies for employment, wages, and taxpayer costs. The findings raise important questions about whether procurement is an efficient tool for job creation and industrial policy.