The Business Council of Australia’s call for long-term thinking is moving in the right direction, but wants both expensive spending programs and lower taxes.
There is much to consider when thinking about our future as a nation. We are a small, resource-rich, open economy facing a volatile global environment. We are particularly vulnerable to the impact of climate…
Regardless of who wins the 2013 election, citizens and commentators alike are pessimistic about Italy’s economic outlook.
AAP
Italy has had several crucial elections in the past. In 1946, right after the end of World War II, citizens were called to decide between Republic and Monarchy. Two years later, the 1948 general election…
Without serious, structural fiscal reforms — which require bipartisanship and compromise — the US economy could go into free fall.
Bungee jump image from www.shutterstock.com
As we check our political calendars, many look to November 6 as the crucial date that will determine the future direction for US politics and the nation’s ailing economy.
But in policy terms, it is January…
Does politics affect the integrity of economic forecasting?
K
The Melbourne Institute’s recent “Intergen +10” workshop was a retrospective on Australia’s pioneering Intergenerational Reports, an outgrowth of the fiscal responsibility legislation put in place by the…
Size does matter: rather than be concerned about achieving a surplus or a deficit, the government should be focusing on how to manage its debt.
AAP
By Kevin Davis, Australian Centre for Financial Studies
Treasurer Swan’s commitment to bring the government budget into surplus in 2012-13 may be a political imperative, but is not good economics. The focus for prudential fiscal management should instead be…
The ability of our politicians to achieve a surplus or balance the budget is spuriously taken as a measure of fiscal responsibility.
AAP
The Federal Government’s quest to return the budget to surplus raises many questions and not just about what immediate rationale there is on economic grounds for this strategy.
It also raises deeper questions…
Unless the US can address structural problems, there no end in sight to this financial crisis.
AAP
Global share markets were faltering even before the decision by Standard & Poor’s to downgrade the US government’s debt. The slump in share markets over the past week reflects a weaker outlook for…
Australia has long since abandoned the goal of full employment.
AAP
While “deficit fetishism” is unsurprising when championed by Liberal politicians or their counterparts in the centre-unity faction of the Labor Party, it is increasingly advocated by those positioned at…
