The Economy, Stupid

All By Myself: The Economics of Loneliness.

25 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Research shows loneliness costs the Australian economy $2.7 billion per year or $1565 per person.The World Health Organisation has also declared lone...

Hackenomics

18 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The growth of cyber-crime is considered to be the biggest challenge facing Australian businesses.Collectively cyber-attacks cost the economy $42 bill...

Puffed out: The Costs of Vaping

11 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

New research suggests that the increase in vaping across Australia will cost the health system an extra $180 million each year and that’s a conserv...

The Economics of Daylight Saving: It’s All In The Timing

04 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Twice a year most Australians are made to deliberately mess with our body clocks. When we go into daylight saving and when we come out.Many of us lov...

Choconomics: The Rising Cost Of Chocolate

28 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As we head into Easter you may have noticed the price of your seasonal sweet treats like chocolate bunnies and eggs are a bit higher than last year.T...

Inheritocracy: The lasting generational advantages of home ownership

21 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the country’s most expensive housing markets, family help and the ‘bank of mum and dad’ is increasingly necessary for younger people to buy ...

Sharing the Benefits of Innovation

14 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Innovation sparks thoughts of tech giants, inventions and Silicon Valley. While those companies in Cupertino may be good at generating extreme wealth...

The Cost of Wage Theft

07 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Wage theft costs Australia’s workforce at least a billion dollars a year.Some industries, like retail, hospitality and horticulture are renowned fo...

Market Concentration of the Beer Industry

29 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The market concentration of the beer industry. 

The Economic Cost of Illiteracy

22 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Illiteracy is costing the Australian economy billions.It won't cost much to fix the problem in our schools, just a commitment. 

A material world

15 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How would we survive the world today if we didn't have our phones? 

The Cost of Loyalty Programs

08 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How airlines have transitioned to financial institutions and data gathering businesses that just happen to have planes.  

Climate Change Costs

01 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The rising cost of extreme weather events and climate change. 

Supermarket prices

25 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Money looks at the accusation that the major supermarkets are price gouging, something the Federal Government is investigating. 

Influence of the consulting industry and the long view

18 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Mariana Mazzucato and the influence of the big consulting firms and why the long term really matters. 

Different generations talking about future generations

11 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sophie Howe and Alison Pennington, women from different generations but with the same goal to improve the living conditions of younger and future gen...

Subscriptions, drip pricing and the cost of returning online shopping

04 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Pay attention to what you're subscribing to, what you're buying and the cost of online returns.

The cost of tertiary education

28 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As the number of students attending university has grown so has their debt and while the HECS / HELP system has worked well in the past - does it now...

The cost of live music

21 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Taylor Swift is on track to make over $US1 billion from her world tour. Here’s how she (and other superstars) make so much.

Presentenomics

14 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The economics of present giving. 

PNG and the IMF and, the future of cities

07 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Disagreement between PNG and the IMF and why our future depends on how we shape our cities. 

Moves to make the RBA independent and The World Ahead report

30 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Making the RBA independent from the government and The World Ahead report. 

Improving competition both in Australia and within the EU and what shoppers want

23 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Improving competition both in Australia and within the EU and what shoppers want from their main street.

The economies of Gaza and Israel and the new Chair of the Productivity Commission

16 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The economic relationship between Gaza and Israel and the new Chair of the Productivity Commission, Danielle Wood.

Headwinds and interest rates; consultancy companies and changes in the CPI

09 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Making sense of what is influencing inflation, consultancy competition and changes in the CPI.

Superannuation funds; interest rate decisions and business expenses

02 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones on what super funds need to do; what will the RBA do about interest rates and a cautionary tale about business expe...

Reporting ESG, global tax evasion and road charges

26 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's a numbers game when it comes to reporting ESG and paying taxes, or not. And how do you better charge for road usage. 

The economic crises that shaped globalisation. Beyond the now: The case for long term thinking.

19 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What we learn from seven economic crashes. Why we should expand our horizons and embraced the long view.

Inheritocracy: The lasting generational advantages of home ownership

12 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Are we returning to the days of the landed gentry when property is increasingly concentrated in families that can afford it?

Competition in Australia. When a few financial institutions control everything.

05 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Competition is good for an economy and consumers but are Australians getting it? Index funds and private equity are on track to dominate the US econo...

Getting to sustained full employment. Financial contagion and the GFC. Golf participation climbs when people are ‘working’ from home.

28 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How does the recent white paper plan to address under and unemployment? A former RBA board member reflects on the early days of the GFC when financia...

Menopause is costing the economy a fortune. El Nino weather and its impact. Central Bank Digital Currencies explained. 

21 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How women and their employers are paying a big price because of menopause. El Nino weather and its impact on economic staples. What are Central Bank ...

We shouldn’t be as alarmed about an economic slowdown in China: Here’s why. 

14 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What a slowdown in China means for Australia. How the rapid rise of the consumer class will change the world. How companies profit from our inattenti...

Sucked in by drip pricing.

07 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Are we still on the narrow path to a soft landing? What the latest figures tell us. The psychology behind drip pricing and how not to get tricked by ...

What’s holding up the green energy transition?

31 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

By 2030, 82 per cent of our power is supposed to come from renewables. We’re not on track.

The 2023 Intergenerational report: Getting ready for 2063

24 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For future generations, what is the legacy of our current public policies and what issues might Australia have to confront in forty years time?    ...

The job market softens (a bit). Why we prefer tax agents. Would you trust an economist? 

17 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What do the latest indicators tell us about the state of the labour market? How we embrace the online world in almost everything- except lodging our...

Overdue invoices and what they signal. Working from home – employers v workers. The hidden costs of online shopping returns.

10 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The rise in debt collection and the late payment of invoices could be the canary in the coal mine for some industries. How are workplaces responding ...

The move to higher mortgage costs. The value of name and place. Inequality and the reporting of finance

03 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As interest rates rise are home owners coping with the transition from low to higher mortgage costs? What the trade row with the EU over geo-indicato...

Gigonomics and the Swifties

27 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Taylor Swift is on track to make $US 1 billion from her world tour. Here’s how she (and other superstars) make so much.

The next Reserve Bank Governor might be underestimated. She shouldn’t be. The French passion for their pensions. Tax groupthink.

20 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Why Michele Bullock, the next Governor of the Reserve Bank is ‘more than just a seasoned econocrat’.How do the French and Australian pensions com...

A slowing economy? Debanking financial abusers. Taking on the money launderers.

13 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Have repeated interest rate rises succeeded in slowing inflation and the economy? Debanking and the push back against financial abusers. Adding teet...

HECS: Can we fix it?

06 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As the number of students attending university has grown so has their debt and while the HECS / HELP system has worked well in the past - does it now...

July 1st changes. Hedging investments against inflation. Why asset managers own the world.

29 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Changes to government transfer payments, programs and policies kick in on July 1st. Just how bad is inflation for the investment economy and can you ...

The next Reserve Bank Governor. A global minimum corporate tax. Are top shelf sports stars worth it?

22 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Who might be the next head of Australia’s central bank? How does a proposed global minimum tax work and will it bring in more revenue. Does paying ...

WA and its share of the GST pie. China’s hopes for reserve currency status. The payment system gets an upgrade.

15 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How does Canberra distribute revenue from the Goods and Services Tax  and is it fair? The U.S dollar has long been the dominant currency for world ...

When a perfect storm hits the rental market

08 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Why are we in a rental crisis and what can be done to improve the situation?  

Who is the World Bank's new boss? Crunch time for aged care. Insuring against cyber attacks.

01 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Can Ajay Banga, the new head of the World Bank, end poverty? Why the aged care sector continues to struggle. Cyber attacks — a risk that can be man...

 Why the Reserve bank wants unemployment to go higher. The case for long term thinking.

25 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Two economists unpack and debate the idea that higher unemployment is needed to contain inflation. Short term thinking might be expedient in business...

 Blowout: Mega projects that don't deliver. Spending, cost of living and who's really under pressure

18 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Cost of living increases are forcing many to change their spending. But not everything is down and not all groups are under pressure. Wade Tubman cru...

Budget review and budget hits with George Megalogenis and Frank Bongiorno

11 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

George Megalogenis and Frank Bongiorno provide their analysis on this budget and where they sit in history.

The US teetering on a catastrophe; inequality in Australia and increasing productivity

04 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The US government debit limit and increasing inequality in Australia and how to improve overall productivity. 

The link between economics and Mona Lisa and Wales striding towards a better future

27 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What is the latest prediction of where the global economy is heading? The clues are in Mona Lisa's smile. And how to protect future generations? Wal...

The RBA review and what does full employment look like in Australia

20 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The RBA review is in with 51 recommendations. Full employment is discussed but what does this look like in Australia?  

Credit card debt; reducing the fiscal gap and the risky business of insurance

13 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Credit card debt is on the rise so too is the interest paid federally to service our debt. What can be done to reduce both? And the cat and mouse gam...

RBA's decision, international banks and a manufacturing revival

06 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Insights into the RBA's recent decision; why are we so blase to another banking crisis and a manufacturing revival.

Interest rates, university incentives and CPI comparisons

30 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A Vice-Chancellor shares his ideas on how to ease the pain when attaining a degree and how does a family of four compare to CPI weightings on househ...

Bank contagion, submarines and jobs and the future of the workplace with AI

23 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Banking contagion and the question of job creation either through submarines and then, AI. 

How to improve the future for young Australians and central bankers are talking

16 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How young Australians can reclaim their uncertain future and what are central bankers talking about amongst themselves? 

Re-thinking insurance and improving migration systems for all

09 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How to better equip countries and regions with insurance for climate disasters and reviewing the migration system. 

A financial crisis in the aged care sector

02 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The aged care sector is haemorrhaging money. Why?

Mariana Mazzucato on the Big Con and an economic view of the Russian invasion

23 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How the consulting industry has taken centre state in the private and public sphere and how has the  Russian invasion of Ukraine twelve months on af...

Could the RBA be getting it right?

16 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What are the reasons behind the interest rate increases and why has the narrative recently shifted in how we're talking about it?

Medicare reform; the great inflation debate and the fuel tax credit scheme

09 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How to better reform Medicare; why we should reform the fuel tax credit scheme and the great inflation debate.

Sustainable financial taxonomies and buy now, pay later regulation

02 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What are sustainable financial taxonomies and why do we need them and why we need to regulate buy now pay later services. 

International trade and China's growing loneliness economy

26 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Major shifts in global trading blocs and how is the loneliness epidemic affecting China's economy?

Beyond GDP: the health of a nation

19 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What should be included when measuring the health of an economy and nation? 

The big business of online sports betting

12 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The business model of online sports betting.

Streaming Services both video and music

05 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What is the economic model of streaming, both music and video, and who benefits?

Economics and the environment

29 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Devastating floods, droughts and storms have been a feature of 2022. How can economics help, or not, with the effects of climate change? 

Sanctions and Oligarchs

22 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The economics of sanctions and how the West enables oligarchs.

Energy caps; Christmas spend and edible economics

15 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Money explains how the Australian economy and everything in it works.

Energy prices; affordable housing and The World Ahead report

08 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There are increases in energy prices and in the number of people sleeping rough. Both of these topics will be discussed as well as what lies ahead ne...

Inflation, jobs, and tax and government

01 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Inflation, jobs and taxation. What is the latest data telling us and what are the challenges for a tax state like Australia in the near future? 

Wages; the IMF; and climate change and democracy

24 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Money looks at what else can be done about wages; where countries are turning for financial assistance and the correlation between climate change...

Costly floods and Chokepoint Capitalism

17 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The cost of this year's floods and how we're been caught up in chokepoint capitalism. 

The very expensive US mid-term elections and IR in Denmark

10 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Industrial relations in Denmark and the very expensive US mid-term elections. 

Rental Crisis

03 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The rental crisis. Why is it happening and what can be done about it? 

Delivering a budget during difficult times

27 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What makes this federal budget different from previous ones and how do you accommodate domestic and international economic pressures. And, a pivotal...

Economic implications of the Chinese Communist Party Congress

20 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The wider implications for the global economy coming out of the Chinese Communist Party Congress. 

How much tax is enough?

13 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The taxing question of how much tax we should be paying and what type of tax. And book publishing, how is the industry adapting to increased paper pr...

How copper may be the roadblock for a greener global economy

06 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Why aren't the banks passing on higher savings rates; copper demand and supply rates are problematic for a greener economy and sovereign capabilities...

Beyond GDP

29 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Measuring the health of an economy and of a nation, what are the variables that should be included, beyond GDP? 

The big business of online sports betting

22 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The big business of sports betting and all that it involves.

The value of the British monarchy and streaming services

15 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What economic value does the British monarch bring to the UK economy and the complexities of streaming services

Deciphering the Reserve Bank's language; China's economy and the bank of mum and dad

08 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What is the RBA Governor Philip Lowe actually saying? What's happening within the Chinese economy and the bank of mum and dad.

The Job Summit: changing jobs and the care economy; and financial stress despite low unemployment

01 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Changing jobs can help improve wages but there needs to be better support in place to help people make the leap. Better support with increased wages...

Andrew Leigh on a more dynamic economy; Europe's drought economies; inflationary psychology

25 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Labor MP Andrew Leigh discusses why Australia's productivity has slowed down and most importantly how we can reignite the economy.

ALP changes to the safeguard mechanism; repairing the environment from the Black Summer Fires; and Green Capitalism

18 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Albanese Government has released a discussion paper outlining changes to the safeguard mechanism ensuring high industrial polluters decarbonise ...

Getting digital with the RBA; CPI data; and simplifying the WTO

11 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

With the increasing popularity of digital currencies, the RBA is exploring its own central bank digital currency. The Deputy Governor of the RBA Mich...

Comparisons with New Zealand's interest rates; Warwick McKibbin on the RBA and targeting inflation and Russia's economy

04 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

New Zealand is not only two hours ahead of the east cost of Australia, it's also seven months ahead of us when it comes to increasing interest rates....

Economy update, the cost of FMD and corruption with the enablers

28 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Treasurer Jim Chalmers delivered his 'confronting' statement on the economy and budget outlook at Parliament today. Economist Danielle Wood from the ...

How to solve our health crisis and labour factors involved in WFH

21 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Health staff across Australia have been telling us for years, there's a crisis within our health system, particularly with our public hospitals. It d...

Wellbeing budget, gig agreement and multinationals

14 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers plans to introduce a Wellbeing Budget, based on New Zealand's experience. Suzi Morrissey, from the Wellbeing Economy A...

The limitations of central banks and living and developing on floodplains

07 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Interest rates are on the rise not just here in Australia but in other parts of the globe as central banks and governments grapple with rising inflat...

Thirty years of superannuation and from free to fair markets

30 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In 1992, the Keating Government passed the Superannuation Guarantee Act insuring at the time retirement savings to seventy two percent of workers. Th...

Energy and capacity mechanisms; the RBA interest rates and jobs and insurance companies and online data

23 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Energy capacity mechanisms, what are they and what are the concerns about them and why is the Australia's Institute Polly Hemming slightly optimistic...

Consumer sentiment, the cost of gun violence in the US and the price of vegetables

16 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Interest rates are rising and not just in Australia. So how do people feel about the economy and their own financial situation? Bill Evans, Chief Eco...

Energy costs, monetary policy and who is the better economic manager

09 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Grattan Institute's director of energy, Tony Wood, provides his analysis of this week's energy minister's meeting and why an integrated energy an...

RBA review; infrastructure spend and improving public service delivery

02 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Twelve of Australia's prominent economists penned an open letter to the new Treasurer Jim Chalmers about what they want to see in the promised review...