Monthly Archives: December 2020

Behavioural Finance podcast chat with Dr Tracey West of Griffith Business School

Posted on December 10, 2020 by Gene Tunny

The latest episode of my Economics Explored podcast considers the emerging field of behavioural finance, which is basically the application of behavioural economics to finance. It considers lessons from this field for households, investors, and governments. The episode features an … Continue reading →

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Aussies over-confident after being over-compensated by Gov’t for COVID-recession

Posted on December 9, 2020 by Gene Tunny

Today we learned that, as Reuters reports, Australia consumer sentiment hits 10-year high (see chart above). This is despite Chinese trade restrictions and the looming insolvency tsunami in the new year and the fiscal cliff in April 2021. Sure, given … Continue reading →

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Chat about the Crown S04 with ABC’s Steven Austin

Posted on December 8, 2020 by Gene Tunny

Yesterday afternoon I had a great chat with 612 ABC Brisbane’s Steven Austin about season 4 of The Crown, specifically about its depiction of Margaret Thatcher, which was a topic of conversation in my last Economics Explored podcast episode. Below … Continue reading →

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Special deals can be bad deals for Government – my comments in today’s Courier-Mail re. Maryborough trains contract

Posted on December 7, 2020 by Gene Tunny

The Queensland Government is facing big questions over the closeness of two prominent lobbyists to the highest levels of government in the state (e.g. see this Brisbane Times report). I don’t necessarily have a problem with lobbyists, so long as: … Continue reading →

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Surely just a matter of time before decriminalisation of cannabis and other drugs

Posted on December 6, 2020 by Gene Tunny

Last Friday, the US House of Representatives passed a law decriminalising cannabis at the federal level. Unfortunately, as noted in this CNN report, the law has very little chance of being upheld by the US Senate, but it was good … Continue reading →

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Qld Budget doesn’t tell the full story on government’s borrowing costs

Posted on December 5, 2020 by Gene Tunny

State Treasurer Cameron Dick, who handed down the 2020-21 Queensland Budget earlier this week, has impressed me with his chutzpah, demonstrated, for example, by this audacious statement in his Budget speech (on p. 38): Not only are our interest costs … Continue reading →

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On Adam Smith and Margaret Thatcher with Dr Eamonn Butler – latest podcast episode

Posted on December 4, 2020 by Gene Tunny

First, I should say that Gillian Anderson nailed Margaret Thatcher’s voice and mannerisms in season 4 of the Crown, but she had to work with some pretty dreadful scripts at times. Thatcher was cast as the villain responsible for high … Continue reading →

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Qld Budget interview on 4BC with Scott Emerson

Posted on December 3, 2020 by Gene Tunny

I was pleased to speak with 4BC Drive host Scott Emerson yesterday about the 2020-21 Queensland Budget. Among other issues, Scott and I chatted about the Government’s abandonment or, more charitably, nuancing of its fiscal principle around keeping public service … Continue reading →

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Women and the Budget webinar presented by Griffith Business School

Posted on December 2, 2020 by Gene Tunny

Last Thursday I had a great time moderating a webinar on Women and the Budget hosted by the Griffith Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics. Presenters included Dr Leonora Risse of RMIT who has been a visiting fellow at the … Continue reading →

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Qld Budget reveals bigger deficits and a lot more debt than expected

Posted on December 1, 2020 by Gene Tunny

Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick has handed down the long-awaited 2020-21 state budget and it contains bigger deficits and much higher debt over the forward estimates than I expected, with nearly $89 billion of general government debt and around $130 billion … Continue reading →

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