Attention conspiracy theorists: see if you can detect a pattern in this.
Tony Abbott wants to review the renewable energy target, so he appoints
self-professed climate change "sceptic" Dick Warburton, who feels
qualified to explain to the scientists where they're going wrong.
Abbott
wants to review the financial system, so he appoints a former boss of a
big four bank, David Murray, who feels qualified to explain to
economists...
Monday, March 31, 2014
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Your guide to business entitlement
With the Abbott government's close relations with big business, we're
still to see whether its reign will be one of greater or less
rent-seeking by particular industries. So far we have evidence going
both ways.
We've seen knockbacks for the car makers, fruit canners and
Qantas, but wins for farmers opposing the foreign takeover of GrainCorp
and seeking more drought assistance, as well as a stay on the big
banks' attempt...
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
How we can do better on Aboriginal imprisonment
You don't need me to tell you that in a country such as America, with
all its history of racial conflict, the rate of imprisonment for
African-Americans is far higher than the rate for whites. Twelve times
higher, in fact. But you may need me to tell you we make the Yanks look
good. Our rate of indigenous imprisonment is 18 times that for the rest
of us.
Aborigines make up 2.5 per cent of the Australian adult
population,...
Monday, March 24, 2014
Abbott's red tape play-acting hides rent-seeking
The world of politicians gets deeper and deeper into spin, and so far no
production of the Abbott government rates higher on the spin cycle than
last week's Repeal Day.
Hands up if you believe in red tape? No, I
thought not. So how about we package up a huge pile of window dressing
with some worthwhile but minor measures, slip in a few favours for our
big business supporters and generous donors, and call it the most
vigorous...
Saturday, March 22, 2014
We own as much of their farm as they own of ours
Did you know that, at the end of last year, the value of Australians'
equity investments abroad exceeded the value of foreigners' equity
investments in Australia by more than $23 billion?
It's the first time
we've owned more of their businesses, shares and real estate ($891
billion worth) than they've owned of ours ($868 billion).
These
days in economics there's an easy way to an exclusive: write about
something no one...
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
More to infrastructure problem than spending money
We get bombarded with economic and political news. Some of it is worth
knowing, some isn't. Some gets much attention, some gets little.
Sometimes we give too much attention to things that aren't worth knowing
and too little attention to things that are. The Productivity
Commission's draft report on public infrastructure is one of the latter.
Ostensibly,
it's a report advising Tony Abbott on how to achieve his dream of
becoming...
Monday, March 17, 2014
Ending the mining tax will hurt jobs
Don't be misled by last week's better-than-expected figures for
employment in February. If you peer through the statistical haze you see
the problem is the reverse: employment is weaker than you'd expect.
Follow that through and it takes you to - of all things - the mining
tax.
The job figures were better than expected for two quite silly reasons. First,
because economists are hopeless at predicting month-to-month changes...
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Many economists don't get the labour market
The world is full of economists who, though they know little of the
specifics of labour economics, confidently propose policies for managing
the labour market based on their general knowledge of the neo-classical
model. All markets are much the same, aren't they?
I fear this is the
best we'll get from the Productivity Commission's inquiry into
regulation of the labour market. So a test of the commission's report
will be...
Friday, March 14, 2014
A REVIEW OF CURRENT AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC POLICY
The main reason for reviewing the present state of economic policy is, of course, the election of the Abbott government in September 2013. Often a new government will introduce a new approach to economic policy, with the rationale for the changes spelt out in the first set of budget papers following the election. But the explanatory material in this year’s budget papers was little different from previous years. From this I deduce...
Thursday, March 13, 2014
I’M OK - REFLECTIONS OF AN OFFICERS’ KID
Talk to Salvation Army Eastern Territory Historical Society, Bexley North, Thursday, March 13, 2014I suppose before I head off down memory lane I should start by giving my testimony - testifying to my present state of grace (or lack of it). I’m no longer a practicing Salvationist, in fact I have to confess to being a backslider. I’d be lucky to get to one meeting a year, though I did go to the Commissioning a few Sunday mornings...
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