The Australian Economy
Australia hasn’t had a recession – in the widely used sense of two or more consecutive quarters of negative real GDP growth – since 1991. Since then, Australia’s ranking among nations in terms of per capita GDP has risen from 22nd to, in the last four years, either 12th or 13th, behind only the United States, Norway, Switzerland and a number of other smaller states which are predominantly either oil producers or financial centres. Australia’s economic performance reflects a combination of luck and management – the relative importance and quality of which have varied significantly from time to time. Monitoring the performance of and analysing the prospects for the Australian economy has been the major part of my ‘day job’ since I completed my university degree in 1979.
Cost of Living and Housing Pressure
Recent Media Interview, The Australian Economy | 22nd January 2024Saul Eslake talks to 4BC’s Bill McDonald about possible options for ‘cost of living’ relief, the tax treatment of property investors, and why he gave Treasurer Jim Chalmers a ‘7 out of 10’ rating in a poll of economists conducted by the Australian Financial Review.
Stage 3 Tax Cuts 2024
Economic Policies, Recent Media Interview, The Australian Economy | 15th January 2024Saul Eslake talks to 4BC’s Bill McDonald about the ‘stage 3’ tax cuts – originally legislated by the former Morrison Government, but which the Albanese Government has pledged to deliver in full come 1st July – and the impact they might have on the Reserve Bank’s thinking about interest rates.
The RBA is following a slightly different path from its peers
Economic Policies, The Australian Economy | 11th January 2024The Reserve Bank of Australia has come in for criticism for some quarters for its most recent rate hike (on 7th November). Although most RBA-watchers, me included, think that there won’t be any more rate hikes next year, the Minutes of the 5th December RBA Board meeting show that another hike was a live option […]
The prospects for RBA’s cash rate reductions in the second half of 2024
News, Recent Media Interview, The Australian Economy | 2nd January 2024Saul Eslake talks to Sky News’ Kenny Heatley on 2nd January 2024 about the prospects for RBA’s cash rate reductions in the second half of 2024.
Does Australia’s productivity growth slowdown represent an inflation risk?
The Australian Economy | 14th December 2023One of the many interesting things you can do with the information provided in the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Labour Account, the most recent of which (for the September quarter) was published last Friday, is derive what I call ‘dollar-based’ estimates of labour productivity – not only for the economy as a whole, but for […]
The Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO)
Economic Policies, News, The Australian Economy | 13th December 2023Interview with Melbourne Radio station 3AW’s Heidi Murphy about the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) presented by Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Wednesday 13th December Economist provides rundown on the budget update and the ‘surprising’ passport increase (3aw.com.au)
September quarter national accounts and their implications for the Reserve Bank of Australia’s monetary policy
Economic Policies, Economic Video, News, Recent Media Interview, The Australian Economy | 6th December 2023Saul spoke with Ausbiz ‘s Danielle Ecuyer about today’s September quarter national accounts and their implications for the Reserve Bank of Australia’s monetary policy settings
Danielle Wood must help undo GST deal
News, Taxation, The Australian Economy | 30th November 2023The Australian Financial Review has published an op-ed from me on the changes to the arrangements for distributing the revenue from the GST among the states and territories imposed by the Morrison Government in 2018 (with the support of the then Labor Opposition) – something which I regard as one of the worst public policy […]