The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has come under attack for the perceived lack of reliability of its labour force statistics, particularly the unemployment rate. The unemployment rate is one of…
- Professor of Economics, University of Canberra
Every scientific discipline has its own language, largely to save time when conversing with others from the same discipline. For instance, in trigonometry it’s much easier to talk about the “hypotenuse…
Consumer sentiment has tumbled to levels not seen since August 2011, in a post-budget drop economists say does not reflect the real state of the economy. According to the monthly Westpac Melbourne Institute…
As the 2014-15 budget nears, Australians are hearing that the government must mount an urgent repair job to address the looming structural crisis that will see the budget in deficit for decades to come…
With a major review of workplace awards underway, the Federal Government has asked the Fair Work Commission to consider whether penalty rates and other minimum conditions are still relevant. In this Viewpoints…
High levels of government debt won’t hurt economic growth in the medium and long-term, according to a new paper released by the International Monetary Fund. The research findings contradict earlier arguments…
Governments in most countries, including Australia, often feel the need to predict which skills will be in demand and match them with increased supply largely through education planning and migration…
Australians are more mobile than workforces in other countries, according to the latest Productivity Commission draft research report on labour mobility. But continued unevenness means acute labour shortages…
“This year our debt will be $30 billion. This year what we see is that government expenditure has grown by $30 billion… The entire volume of our deficit for this financial year is explained by government…
Chris Bowen, the new Labor Treasurer, has announced the government’s plans for savings and new sources of revenue to meet a budget shortfall with the aim of bring about the elusive budget surplus in 2016/17…
A slowing economy and drop in government revenue has led to an increased budget deficit, new taxes and some cuts to existing programs. Delivering the Rudd government’s long awaited economic statement…
“Under this [Labor] government we’ve seen one manufacturing job lost every 19 minutes.” - Opposition industry spokeswoman Sophie Mirabella, Q&A, 1 July. The Conversation contacted Mirabella’s office…
Two reports released on the same day have confirmed what we already knew - that the structural budget balance is in poor shape. The Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) has launched its report, Estimates…
How did the Australian economy, which boasts the best performance of the major advanced economies, end up with an estimated budget deficit of A$19 billion this year and an estimated debt of $178 billion…
The good times are over. That’s the message both parties are sending out ahead of the budget and September’s election. Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey promises major cuts to spending and welfare if the coalition…
Good policy should be free of surprises. Households have to make decisions about how much to spend, how much to save, how to finance their retirement, whether to take out health insurance, and so on. Businesses…
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