There’s no shortage of economic reform options on the table for the Turnbull government, the question is, can it convince the electorate?
- Professor of Economics, Monash University
Uber has reached 15000 drivers in Australia. If this growth continues, with Uber, traditional taxis and other services all competing to drive us around our cities, then we will have a metropolitan transport…
The carbon tax repeal was supposed to save the average household A$550. And it might well have done, but teasing out the exact figure amid the myriad other economic factors is a herculean task.
The Court of Appeals in the US has ratified Apple’s guilt in the e-book case. It was a two-to-one decision by the three judges on the Court. And it provides two lessons for Australia. First, when industries…
The problem with economic reform is not ‘what to do’ but ‘how to do it’. This is highlighted by the recent Competition Policy Review. Ian Harper and the Review team highlighted a range of useful reforms…
Free-to-Air (FTA) television is in trouble. But the reasons are not as simple as you might think. The trouble is clear. Ten Network Holdings share price has tanked from around $1.50 in late 2010 to about…
Unless key words are clarified proposed changes to Australian competition law could actually harm competition.
The higher education sector needs more competition to ensure prices stay low. One way to encourage new entrants into the market is to separate funding for teaching and research.
The Federal Opposition has released a discussion paper on the sharing economy. It covers a range of issues: protection of workers, consumer protection, equity and accessibility, taxation and state/federal…
New internet businesses are transforming dusty old industries. The current wave includes Uber (hire cars), Airbnb (accommodation) and Freelancer (labour services). But there have been plenty of others…
Standards are a key part of technical progress and for the increased use of renewable energy. Solar power provides an obvious example. If a photo-voltaic unit is used to put power back into the electricity…
What is the new normal for the Australian economy? With unemployment rising, commodity prices reaching new lows, and confidence subdued, is the Australian economy prepared to handle offshore headwinds…
The rules around the NBN have moved rapidly over Christmas. On December 14th, the Minister for Communications, Malcolm Turnbull, released new rules requiring all providers of high-speed broadband services…
It is sometimes claimed that economists are obsessed by competition. The reason is simple. Competition matters, a lot! Petrol provides a great example of the effects of local competition. Costco entered…
Bank competition, increased capital levels and poorly designed taxes, such as capital gains tax and negative gearing, have been singled out for reform in the final report of the Financial System Inquiry…
Is the ABC trying to make itself redundant? Because that appears to be its strategy. Here’s why. The ABC is expensive. In 2013 it was allocated more than A$1 billion of taxpayer funds. The ABC claims…
Banks borrow short and lend long. So if all of a bank’s depositors suddenly want their money, the bank would be unable to pay them. A bank may have made great loans but it can only unwind these loans slowly…
The draft report by the Competition Policy Review has signalled a revolution in the provision of human services. But the interest has all been elsewhere. That is not surprising. The draft report is more…
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has not ruled out a proposal by the expert panel reviewing the telecommunications industry to break up and sell off parts of NBN Co. However Mr Turnbull, responding…
Words matter. With Australia’s competition laws, the wording of our ‘abuse of market power’ laws are ahead of the rest of the world. But the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) wants…
The cost-benefit analysis on the NBN has been released. While it “supports” the government’s multi-technology-mix (MTM) scenario over Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP), the best case is the ‘unsubsidised rollout…
With the carbon tax scrapped almost a month ago and the federal government promising A$550 savings in the first year for the average family, you might be wondering when everything is going to start getting…
When the carbon tax was introduced, there was a lot of discussion about winners and losers. The Labor government limited the number of businesses that had to pay the tax, while it also gave carbon tax…
If you heard Clive Palmer and his Palmer United senators say today that they will only scrap the carbon tax with stronger rules to protect consumers, you might have thought they sounded quite fair and…
Uber is a great innovation. It allows individuals to find better, more convenient ways to travel around our cities. It will reduce congestion, save people money, and create new jobs. So why is it illegal…
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