SAUL ESLAKE

Economist

SAUL ESLAKE

‘Welcome to my website …
I’m an independent economist, consultant, speaker,
and Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Tasmania’

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.

Why Reserve Bank needs to raise rates next week

Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, News, Recent Media Interview, The Australian Economy | 28th April 2022

Saul talked with The Conversation’s Chief Political Correspondent Michelle Grattan on 27th April about this week’s much bigger-than-expected March quarter inflation data, and its implications for next week’s RBA Board meeting and for the current election campaign.


Who are the ‘better managers’ of Australia’s economy?

Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, Publications, The Australian Economy | 21st April 2022

Article originally published on John Menadue’s Pearls and Irritations site on 21st April 2022, asking whether either of Australia’s major political parties can credibly claim to be “better economic managers” than the other.


Jobs in Depth with SBS’ Ricardo Gonçalves

News, Recent Media Interview, The Australian Economy | 15th April 2022

Saul talks to SBS World News’ Ricardo Gonçalves about todays labour force data


“Better economic managers”: a factcheck with Saul Eslake

Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, News, Recent Media Interview, The Australian Economy | 13th April 2022

Saul talks to Linda Mottram, of ABC Radio’s flagship program “PM” about the accuracy of political parties’ claims, during election campaigns like the current one, to be “better economic managers” than their opponents


Scott Morrison spruiks Australia’s post-Covid jobs recovery. We factcheck him

Australian Society and Politics, News, The Australian Economy | 8th April 2022

Guardian Australia’s Paul Karp filed this story based on an interview with Saul, ‘fact checking’ the PM’s claim that the Covid-19 recession was “30 times worse” than the GFC. Scott Morrison spruiks Australia’s post-Covid jobs recovery. We factcheck him | Australian politics | The Guardian      


The RBA and the Budget

News, Recent Media Interview, The Australian Economy | 7th April 2022

Saul Eslake talks to Alan Kohler about the outcome of this week’s RBA Board meeting, which foreshadowed the possibility of a first rate rise in June, and about last week’s Federal Budget AK: And now, here’s Saul Eslake, independent economist and his business is called Corinna Economics. Saul, any surprises in yesterday’s monetary policy decision […]


Morrison’s special GST deal with WA – Monday Finance with Elysse Morgan

Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, News, The Australian Economy | 4th April 2022

Saul talks to the ABC’s Elysse Morgan about the ‘dirty deal’ which adds almost $20bn to federal deficits in order to boost WA’s surpluses by the same amount, on ABC Radio National Breakfast


The 2022-2023 Federal Budget with Tasmania Talks’ Mike O’Loughlin

Australian Federal Budget, Australian Society and Politics, News, Recent Media Interview, Tasmania, The Australian Economy | 30th March 2022

Saul talks to Tasmania Talks’ Mike O’Loughlin about the 2022-23 Federal Budget, and its likely impact on Tasmania, wages, and housing affordability


SPEAKING ENGAGEMENT

Speaking Engagement | Boardroom Advisory | Commissioned Report | Expert Witness



Saul Eslake spoke to Zurich Australia executives and staff at their ‘Accelerate’ conference in Sydney on 9th May 2024, covering short- and longer-term trends in major ‘advanced’ economies, China, India and Australia, with a bit of geo-politics thrown in.



“You are the best economic thinker in the country hands down”

Sheryle Bagwell, recently retired Senior Business Correspondent (and sometime Executive Producer),
ABC Radio National Breakfast


“Just want to congratulate you Saul on the unbelievably good set of slides you just presented, possibly the best I have ever seen. You have set the bar very high.”

Dr Joe Flood, Adjunct Fellow, RMIT University, Pandemicia


“Thank you very much for your excellent presentation for the Economic Society today. It is always a great pleasure to hear your eloquent, up-to-date and comprehensive talks.”

Andrew Trembath, economist, Victorian and Australian Government agencies


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VIDEO

Most Recent Multimedia


TESTIMONIALS

What Others Say


Australian Minister for Housing, the Hon. Clare O'Neill MP on ABC Q&A, September 2024

“We are lucky as a State to have an economist of your calibre willing to readily make yourself available to give us a clea r perception of where we are at and the direction we need to go for a better future”
Diplomatic Representative, August 2024

“You are one of the best at what you do in the world”
Gail Fosler, Chief Economist, The Conference Board, New York, December 2002

“I have never known an economist to have such a knowledge of world economic facts and to be able to bring to bear so much information in answering a question without notice”
Charles Goode, Chairman, ANZ Bank, July 2009

“Saul Eslake is … a highly regarded independent economist with the highest degree of integrity"
John Durie, Columnist, The Australian, July 2009

“… one of the few people in this world who can have so many oranges up in the air at the same time but still manage to catch them"
Andrew Clark, journalist, Australian Financial Review, November 2008

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WHAT'S NEW

Most Recent Articles, Talks and Presentations


‘Tasmanian Money Matters’ – Tasmania’s Economy and Public Finances
Economic Policies, Tasmania
3rd October 2024


Challenges and Opportunities for Australian Agriculture
Commodities, The Australian Economy
1st October 2024


Negative Gearing
Economic Policies, Housing, News, Recent Media Interview, Taxation
26th September 2024


Will Anthony Albanese succeed where Bill Shorten failed in making changes to the taxation treatment of property investment?
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, Housing, Taxation
26th September 2024


‘Super for housing’ is a souped-up first home owners grants scheme – and it won’t help any more than first home owners grants have
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, Housing
24th September 2024


‘Super for Housing’ – a Thoroughly Bad Idea
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, Housing, The Australian Economy, Topics
19th September 2024


A ‘path back to surplus’ for the Tasmanian Budget? Not really
Tasmania
17th September 2024


What’s happening in the economy – nationally and in Tasmania
Economic Policies, Tasmania, The Australian Economy
13th September 2024


Tasmania’s State Budget 2024 – 2025 with Leon Compton
News, Recent Media Interview, Tasmania
13th September 2024


Tasmania’s 2024-25 State Budget – an Assessment
Economic Policies, Tasmania
12th September 2024


Solutions to Australia’s Housing Crisis
Australian Society and Politics, Housing, News, Recent Media Interview
11th September 2024


Tasmania’s State Finances – presentation to the Local Government Association of Tasmania’s Annual Conference
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, Tasmania
4th September 2024


All about inflation
Economic Policies, News, Recent Media Interview, The Australian Economy
31st August 2024


LINKS

Useful Links


Below is a list of links I’ve found useful under the following broad topics

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