Monthly Archives: July 2018

CIS Ideas post on government size & economic growth paper by Makin et al.

I spent an enjoyable week visiting the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney, and while there I was roped into drafting a short post for their regular Friday Ideas email. My post was on a recent conference paper by Griffith … Continue reading

Posted in Budget, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Andrew Leigh-Sinclair Davidson company tax debate

In March, there was extensive media coverage (e.g. in the Guardian Australia) of shadow assistant treasurer Andrew Leigh’s company tax research which found companies paying lower effective company tax rates (i.e. actual tax paid/profits) did not create more jobs than … Continue reading

Posted in Tax, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Economics of second best in energy policy

Australia’s energy policy is such a confusing mess that the Australian’s economics editor Judith Sloan actually supports the ACCC’s dubious call (in its Electricity Pricing Inquiry Final Report) for the Australian Government to act as a buyer of last resort … Continue reading

Posted in Energy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A question you could ask RBA Deputy Governor Guy Debelle at ESA Qld business lunch on 22 August

Ten years after the 2008 financial crisis, economists are still debating whether the policy response at the time was excessive or insufficient (e.g. the excellent recent Macro Musings podcast with Larry Ball on the Lehman collapse) and whether banking needs … Continue reading

Posted in Macroeconomy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments