China’s economic miracle will see it become the world’s greatest financial power; but it critical for the country’s new leaders to ensure its workers aren’t left behind.
AAP
China’s Communist Party has overseen an economic miracle over the past 20 years, but they are now facing the consequences of becoming the fastest growing economy on the planet.
With China’s GDP now standing…
There is little evidence to support the belief that Australia’s productivity declines are linked to the need for labour market reform.
AAP
It is not easy to devise a solution to Australia’s productivity slowdown when a shared understanding of the problem is so elusive.
While there is recognition among policy-makers that productivity is a…
How should we measure the size of the Australian economy?
AAP
Treasurer Wayne Swan recently noted that Australia now has the world’s twelfth largest economy. This suggests it has moved up three places during Labor’s period of office, and regained the three places…
What are the benefits and risks of an ageing workforce? Image source: www.shutterstock.com.
Welcome to Shades of Grey, a series from The Conversation that examines the challenges posed by Australia’s ageing workforce, Today, Macquarie University’s Ben Spies-Butcher explains how increasing the…
A poor report card on Australia’s productivity carried some obvious flaws.
Flickr
This week’s global report ranking Australia’s productivity growth performance second-last on a list of 51 countries raised eyebrows and prompted calls for urgent action.
The Australian Human Resources…
Economic modelling shows Australia’s GDP will be modestly affected by the carbon tax in the long term: but the equitable redistribution of tax revenue will be critical.
AAP
Cutting greenhouse gas emissions is like buying an insurance policy: we incur a cost to reduce a risk. Every year Australians spend millions on insuring homes, cars and their health, not because they know…
Robert F Kennedy thought it a mistake to equate success with what we produce.
RFK Wharehouse
Economists are regularly criticised for worrying about gross domestic product (GDP) and similar measures. The classic statement of the case was by Robert F Kennedy:
“Too much and too long, we seem to…
Worst hit by the Asian financial crisis in 1998, Indonesia’s economy has returned to pre-crisis growth rates. What lessons are there for Greece?
Flickr/Cillian Storm
European financial woes are mounting daily is what some have called the biggest economic challenge of our generation.
However, just over a decade ago an even larger financial crisis was unfolding in Australia…
What’s the true picture of Chinese economic stimulus? China’s decision to cut interest rates actually has modest implications for Australia.
AAP
Last week’s decision by China to cut interest rates by 0.25% seemed to attract almost as much attention in Australia as the same decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) several days earlier.
The…
Australia’s economy is in rude health – yet people’s fears of imminent economic disaster are not groundless.
AAP
A simple line graph of the share of mining investment in Australia’s GDP reveals the scale of what our economy is going through.
It shows that mining investment is now twice as large relative to GDP…
Increasing workforce participation of women and older people could increase Australia’s GDP by $50 billion.
AAP
If Australian governments are serious about raising rates of economic growth, they must reform the tax mix and increase the workforce participation rates of women and older people. Each of these reforms…
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…
IMF head Christine Lagarde sees some positives in global economic growth: but we should be wary of broad projections.
AAP
The recent economic forecasts of the IMF and OECD about prospects for economic growth remind me of an aphorism about the economist who drowned while crossing a river he estimated that was, on average…
Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens: knowing how individuals board members think is important.
AAP
Monetary policymaking is imperfect. When board members of a central bank such as the Reserve Bank of Australia sit down to set the appropriate target cash rate each month – as they did this week – there…
A slowdown in China’s economy is not yet cause for concern in Australia.
AAP
These days, most economic commentators in Australia sing from the same hymn sheet when it comes to discussing our economic prospects: while the ongoing gloom in the US and the outright deterioration in…
When resources are scarce, turning rubbish into something productive is a great business model.
AAP
For over 200 years, since the industrial revolution, we have seen economic growth strongly coupled with the consumption of more and more resources. The more we grew, the more we consumed.
This model works…
Our obsession with growth stops us taking meaningful action on climate change.
Flickr/hfabulous
While global warming deniers have been effective in their aim of sowing doubt in the public mind, the most powerful argument used over and over has been that cutting emissions will cut growth, and that…
