News
Friday Fodder (32/24)
Price gouging is (almost) always good; the EU's tariffs could have been worse; culture beats policy when it comes to fertility; time for fiscal responsibility; and the reality of industrial policy.
News
Price gouging is (almost) always good; the EU's tariffs could have been worse; culture beats policy when it comes to fertility; time for fiscal responsibility; and the reality of industrial policy.
Monetary policy
The RBA's conflicting statements on uncertainty and accountability expose a dangerous pattern of misguided forward guidance and unlearned lessons, threatening its credibility and effectiveness in controlling inflation.
Markets
Kamala Harris' recent policy proposals are equivalent to the four horsemen of a policy-pocalypse: nothing but misguided attempts to address economic issues that will fail to achieve their stated goals, leading to unintended consequences.
News
Albo would fail Econ 101; are we in another iron ore winter; what does Raygun have in common with the RBA; Australia's employment recession; could you be an Olympian; China's economic crisis; and how you're able to drink milk.
Industrial policy
One subsidy at a time.
Monetary policy
As the Australian government attempts to manipulate inflation metrics through targeted spending, the RBA finds itself in a balancing act between economic stability and political pressure, echoing historical tensions between Nixon and the Fed.
News
Working from home is good for (almost) everyone; QLD Inc wants to operate its service stations, at great cost; lawyers don't make good economists, Google edition; how nations escape poverty; why we should welcome cheap toasters; and the Romans really loved roads.
Inflation
A closer look at the recent market rout reveals underlying concerns about Australia's economy, and that the RBA's next moves will be as crucial as ever.
Growth
Russia's booming consumer spending will eventually crash back down to earth, following a historical pattern seen in times of war and disaster, including the 14th century's Black Death.
News
Rex Airlines' owners should take a haircut; the limits to synthetic AI data; California versus AI; how a cybersecurity firm took out the world's computers; and Paris is showing that it's time to dial back the Olympics.
Housing
To ease the rental crisis and prevent it from happening again, governments should provide targeted assistance while focusing on increasing housing supply through planning reforms, rather than implementing well-intentioned but counterproductive policies like no-fault eviction bans.
China
Xi Jinping's state-led economic vision is crippling China's growth potential, fuelling overcapacity and wasting trillions of dollars, with far-reaching consequences for China, Australia and the world.