Australia would need to avoid consecutive quarters of negative real GDP growth until at least 2024 if it is truly to be able to claim this “world record” as its own.
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We shouldn’t be in the business of awarding ourselves prizes to which we’re not entitled.
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The climate crisis demands not only green technologies, but a completely different approach to economic development.
Ugandan worker picking tea as exports in the country grows.
Reuters/James Akena
Uganda needs to boost manufacturing and exports to realise the ambitions listed in its social and economic development plan.
GDP as a measure of growth fails to account for damages caused to the environment by industrial activity.
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Our approach to economic growth has done more harm than good and must be be replaced with more appropriate goals.
Gender income inequality in Australia is now considerably above the OECD average of 15.5%.
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A 10% reduction in gender income inequality can boost labour productivity by up to 3%, new analysis finds.
Fioramonti in Edinburgh.
South African economist is one of leading voices questioning the way we relate everything to a single statistic.
Ethiopia’s large young population could become an advantage if backed by appropriate policies.
REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri
Over 70% of Ethiopia’s population is under 30 years of age. This can be converted to economic muscle if policies are introduced to tackle the high unemployment levels in the country.
All of the increase in spending on social security and welfare is due to the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
Dan Peled/AAP
If you look at past budgets, the proposed cuts in social security programs are disproportionate to the amount the government spends.
No matter how hard we dig, the Earth’s resources are ultimately finite.
Mining image from www.shutterstock.com
Even supposedly “green” technologies such as renewable energy require materials, land and solar exposure and cannot grow indefinitely on this planet.
Pro-Trump supporters in Manhattan. The new US president appeals to many Americans marginalised by globalisation.
Reuters/Andrew Kelly
The world needs an alternative system, measuring economic value in face of the dissatisfaction that brought Donald Trump to the White House.
Was World Vision Australia chief advocate Tim Costello right to say that Australia’s foreign aid spending was at its highest under Menzies, at 0.5% of gross national income?
AAP Image/Royal Australian Air Force, CPL Jessica de Rouw
We check the facts on how Australia’s foreign aid spend has changed over time.
Sean McGee Hicks/Flickr
Ridiculed and ignored in 2016, what can the ‘dismal science’ offer us now?
We need to account for the benefit we get from nature.
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When we don’t factor in the environment in our economic decision making, we aren’t getting an acurate picture of what’s happening. Australia needs to adopt more environmental economics.
Greg Foyster
After Christmas, and the Boxing Day sales, it seems like a good time to ask: what is the purpose of all this consumption?
Accessible “green space” in cities is one of the things we will start measuring.
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For a long time the way we measure what is going on in our economy and society has distorted our actions. We’re now building a more holistic way of measuring progress.
Students protest outside the parliament in South Africa. The protest is seen as part of a bigger political crisis.
REUTERS/Sumaya Hisham
South Africa’s economic challenges of 2016 are largely a reflection of its inability to change in the light of global shocks.
How does Australia’s economic growth shape up against the G7 countries?
AAP Image/Joe Castro
Ahead of the Mid Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook, minister for defence industries Christopher Pyne said a lot of jobs were created in 2016 and Australia has the highest growth rate in the G7. Is that true?
Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison will deliver the Mid Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook next week.
Lukas Coch/AAP
The US Fed meets expectations for a rate cut, Australia’s unemployment rate heads upwards again, and all eyes look to the mid year budget update.
Australian business confidence is falling, amid concerning signs from other economic indicators.
Dan Peled/AAP
Australia’s economic indicators are showing worrying signs, with business confidence falling in the face of continued low interest rates.
Scott Morrison said the quarter’s weakness was broad based but the dominant cause of the contraction was the decline of 3.2% in new business investment.
Lukas Coch/AAP
After the national accounts showed the economy going backwards in the September quarter, Scott Morrison called for “partners” in the parliament to drive the government’s economic plan through.