Author Archives: Gene Tunny

Cannabis with Dr Stephen Thornton – latest Economics Explained episode

Several jurisdictions around the world, such as the US states of California and Colorado, have legalised cannabis, also known as marijuana. In Australia, the Australian Capital Territory will become the first Australian jurisdiction to legalise recreational cannabis use on the … Continue reading

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The Fight on the Right – latest International Liberty post features my interview with Dr Dan Mitchell

Well known US economist and pundit Dr Dan Mitchell has featured my Economics Explained interview with him in the latest instalment of his Fight on the Right series of posts on his International Liberty blog: Fight on the Right part … Continue reading

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China’s demographic future could be even worse than currently projected

China is a major influence on the Queensland economy given the large value of our coal exports, so we should be paying close attention to how China’s poor demographics will affect its future economic growth. China’s unbalanced population, with lots … Continue reading

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Dan Mitchell interviewed on Economics Explained regarding government spending & economic growth

Last week, I interviewed prominent US economist and commentator Dan Mitchell regarding government spending and economic growth for the latest episode of my Economics Explained podcast. Dan is co-founder of the Center for Freedom and Prosperity, and he is a … Continue reading

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Australia’s (and Qld’s) climate change policy predicament

Yesterday, the Financial Times published a blistering op-ed by its Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator Gideon Rachman: Australia is no longer the lucky country (NB pay-walled). It is one of the best summaries of Australia’s current predicament over climate change I’ve … Continue reading

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Global population trends on Economics Explained podcast

There are currently around 7.7 billion people in the world. The UN is projecting global population will increase to 9.7 billion by 2050 and to nearly 11 billion by 2100. Obviously, this projected growth raises a range of economic, social, … Continue reading

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Big economic issues for the 2020s

In my latest Economics Explained episode Big economic issues for the 2020s, I discuss the major economic issues I’ve been thinking about lately: the secular stagnation hypothesis, digital disruption and surveillance capitalism, and climate change. Use these timestamps to jump … Continue reading

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My top ten posts of the 2010s

Since I started Queensland Economy Watch in June 2010, I’ve attempted to cover the changing fortunes of the Queensland economy and state budget as accurately and objectively as possible. It’s been a great experience. I’ve learned a lot and met … Continue reading

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Higher long-term unemployment a marker of Qld’s under-performance relative to rest of Australia

In its 2019-20 Mid-Year Fiscal and Economic Review released in mid-December, the Queensland Government revised down the state economic outlook, with economic growth revised to 2.5%, down from 3%, and the unemployment rate revised upwards to 6.25% from 6% for … Continue reading

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Podcast highlights – Quiggin on climate change, Gruen on digital public goods, and others

My latest Economics Explained episode presents highlights from the podcast in 2019, including UQ’s John Quiggin on climate change, Lateral Economics’s Nicholas Gruen on digital public goods, and RMIT’s Leonora Risse (currently a fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School) on … Continue reading

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