Business & Economics
Directing expenditure to where it’s needed most for Indigenous Australia
The failure of the ‘Yes’ campaign in the Voice referendum came as no surprise given that the coalition opposed it. ...
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What 15 years of research tells us about ‘nudge’ theory’s promises and politics
It’s been 15 years since a particular concept of behavioural science went mainstream. ‘Nudge theory’, the notion that our behaviour ...
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Is labour productivity the problem?
In a recent article, Alan Kohler, a financial journalist of some note, concluded that: “The reason labour productivity (GDP per ...
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What the right gets wrong about Adam Smith
What to make of Adam Smith? You might have thought we would have straightened this out, given that he only ...
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How deregulation left central banks with few weapons
Since the global financial crisis of 2008, Western financial markets have experienced steadily falling interest rates. Three years ago, they ...
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How the philosophy of the past can help us imagine the economy of the future
The economy keeps making headlines for all the wrong reasons — stories about rising prices, supply shortages and a looming recession have been frequently making ...
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Class and inequality in Australia
In Australian news, opinion and popular culture, the figures of the hipster and the bogan are everywhere. These figures are ...
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New dangers in a familiar debt crisis
Debt crises are as old as civilisation itself. The reason is simple. Compound interest increases geometrically, whereas economic activity only ...
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How ‘neoliberalism’ became an insult in Australian politics
The much-debated term ‘neoliberalism’ again entered the political debate last week, with Greens leader Adam Bandt using a National Press ...
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How tax phobia cramps our future
For many years, Australian governments with a vision for the nation have been hamstrung in their ability to fully realise ...
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Home to roost: Getting out of our housing mess
Whoever wins this week’s election will inherit an Australian economy that is more distorted than it has been since the ...
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What the neoliberalism-hating left should love about markets
It is fashionable these days to dunk on markets. Show me something bad in the world and I’ll show you ...
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