Monthly Archives: October 2019

Innovation & digital public goods with Dr Nicholas Gruen – latest Economics Explained episode

Posted on October 31, 2019 by

The latest episode of my Economics Explained podcast, featuring renowned Australian economist, entrepreneur, and angel investor Dr Nicholas Gruen, is now available via Simplecast and major podcast apps. I had a very enjoyable conversation with Nicholas regarding his views on … Continue reading →

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Thoughts on Jackie Trad’s interview by Steve Austin on Qld economy

Posted on October 30, 2019 by

CommSec’s latest State of the States report which was released Monday reported Queensland in fifth position among Australia’s eight states and territories. On Monday afternoon, 612 ABC Brisbane’s Steve Austin interviewed Deputy Premier-Treasurer Jackie Trad on the state of the … Continue reading →

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Sunstein’s Cost-Benefit Revolution is recommended reading

Posted on October 28, 2019 by

While economists often lament that governments don’t use cost-benefit analysis enough, Harvard Law Professor and former US regulatory czar Cass Sunstein offers a much more optimistic perspective in his excellent 2018 book The Cost-Benefit Revolution, which I’ve only just got … Continue reading →

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Personal finance with Dr Di Johnson episode of Economics Explained

Posted on October 24, 2019 by

The latest episode of my Economics Explained podcast explores the very important topic of personal finance. There is growing interest in personal finance, as evidenced by the stellar sales of Scott Pape’s Barefoot Investor book, which gets several mentions in … Continue reading →

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Money on the Screen – film industry episode of Economics Explained podcast

Posted on October 19, 2019 by

The latest episode of my Economics Explained podcast, Money on the Screen, explores the economics of the film industry. What affects the return on investment in films? Should governments subsidise film productions as they do in Australia? In the episode, … Continue reading →

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Qld-Commonwealth argy bargy over dam funding & vertical fiscal imbalance

Posted on October 16, 2019 by

The argy bargy over dam funding between the federal and state government reported by the Courier-Mail (State accuses feds of holding out on dam money) earlier this week is yet another illustration of a big problem in our federation: vertical … Continue reading →

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The Gig Economy – Economics Explained episode with Darren Brady Nelson

Posted on October 14, 2019 by

The topic of my latest Economics Explained episode is the so-called gig economy. Across the world, we’ve seen a surge in freelancing and contract work, facilitated by the proliferation of laptops and smartphones, and by web platforms such as Uber and Upwork. … Continue reading →

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Government Budget Analysis Training Day on 22 November at the Johnson, Spring Hill, Brisbane

Posted on October 10, 2019 by

I’m excited to announce my old friend and colleague Joe Branigan and I will be holding a training day on government budget analysis on Friday 22 November at the Johnson Hotel, Spring Hill, Brisbane. Tickets are available via Eventbrite: Government … Continue reading →

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Economics of Infrastructure with Craig Lawrence podcast discussion – Part 2

Posted on October 8, 2019 by

I’ve just published part 2 of my Economics Explained podcast discussion on the economics of infrastructure with Craig Lawrence, Managing Director of Brisbane-based Lytton Advisory: Economics of Infrastructure – Part 2 Craig Lawrence has three decades of experience as a … Continue reading →

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Rookwood Weir business case should be re-worked – first one suggested it’s a poor project, though

Posted on October 4, 2019 by

Building a downsized 54,000 ML Rookwood Weir in Central Queensland, as the state government is now proposing following an estimated cost blowout, doesn’t appear sensible to me, as agricultural use of the water is critical to the project’s viability, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Uncategorized, Water | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments