Economic Policies
The Nobel Prize winning economist James Tobin once said that the study of economics “offered the hope, as it still does, that improved understanding could better the lot of mankind”. One of the ways in which it does this is through the implementation of economic policy that helps to ameliorate boom-and-bust cycles, reduces unemployment, contains inflation or lifts people’s living standards in sustainable ways.
Old wine in new bottles: more ‘rent-seeking’ from South Australian manufacturing interests
Economic Policies, Publications, The Australian Economy | 17th September 2021There’s a new lobby group pleading for preferential treatment for manufacturing in the name of ensuring ‘sovereignty’, a word of which the present Federal Government is especially fond. But it boils down to the same old rent-seeking that has been a feature of Australian manufacturing policy for most of the past 120 years. (Full text […]
The ‘corrupt bargain’ underpinning WA’s budget surpluses
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, Taxation | 16th September 2021Article published in the Australian Financial Review on 16th September 2021, examining the way in which Western Australia’s budget surpluses are being bolstered at the expense of the rest of Australia by the ‘corrupt bargain’ over shares of revenue from the GST imposed by the Morrison Government three years ago
Housing Grants: more harm than good
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, Housing, News, Recent Media Interview, The Australian Economy | 15th September 2021Saul talks to Tasmania Talks’ Mike O’loughlin on 14th September, 2021 about housing affordability crisis
Housing affordability crisis with Brooke Corte
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, Housing, News, Recent Media Interview, The Australian Economy | 14th September 2021Saul talks to 2GB‘s Money News‘ Brooke Corte about housing affordabilty crisis
This is a recession – we’re just not calling it one
Economic Policies, Publications, The Australian Economy | 9th September 2021Op-ed published in the Australian Financial Review of 9th August 2021 – arguing (1) that we are in a recession now, irrespective of whether we have two consecutive quarterly contractions in real GDP, and (2) that although it shares some of the ‘responsibility’ for this second recession, the federal government’s fiscal policy response to it […]
Submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Tax and Revenue inquiry into Housing Affordability and Supply in Australia
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, Housing | 31st August 2021My submission to a House of Representatives Committee inquiry into housing affordability and home ownership, which recapitulates things I’ve been writing and saying about housing affordability and home ownership for the best part of four decades – without ever having really made any difference to the housing policies which governments at all levels and of […]
Tasmania’s 2021-22 State Budget
Economic Policies, Tasmania | 26th August 2021The 2021-22 Tasmanian State Budget is an uncharacteristically big-spending affair, with some $2½ billion in new spending over the next four years funded by ‘windfall gains’ from Tasmania’s share of GST revenue, and buoyant stamp duty collections, together with $500-$600 million more borrowing than had been previously envisaged – although because last year’s deficit was […]
Excerpt: Modern Monetary Theory
Economic Policies, Economics and Economists, QE & MMT, The Global Economy | 25th August 2021Login or subscribe to view the full video and presentation slides Login Subcribe Some commentators seem to think that ‘QE’ is simply a variant of, or a step along the road to, something called ‘Modern Monetary Theory’ or ‘MMT’. It isn’t: and so in the second part of this series Saul explains what MMT is […]