Measuring what matters – human capital

When Karl Marx wrote Das Kapital 156 years ago, economists had a pretty good idea of what “capital” was – factories, ships, railroads, and other expensive equipment. If he were writing today, he would surely be paying far more attention to the distribution of human capital.

What a wellbeing budget means for government policy

Governments have always been concerned about health, income distribution and other indicators, but bringing wellbeing formally into the budget process is a significant step in economic reform.

Early childhood development – roadblocks in the way of public policy

Even where there are no strong ideological conflicts and where there is strong evidence supporting policy reform, there may still be systemic impediments to reform. The good news is that these impediments are not permanent.

A German Lesson for Australia – understanding the importance of family businesses

At the Global Access Partners 2017 Summit Albrecht von der Hagen from Germany’s Association of Family-Owned Businesses Germany’s Familienunternehmer (literally “family undertakings”) spoke about their role in Germany’s economy.

Do we have to let a crisis develop before we do anything?

Governments are adept at responding to crises, but in the absence of a crisis policymakers are equally adept at ignoring trends that call for a policy response. Ian McAuley considers how the classification of a problem as a Left / Right issue is stymying progress.

Health funding – how do we pay for health care?

Government policies on health care are strongly focussed on short-term fiscal costs, achieved by incremental tweaks to existing programs. It’s fifty years, however, since there has been a wide inquiry into how we fund health care. We need to be considering some basic questions about how we pay for health care, writes Ian McAuley.

The value of housing – a contribution from Karl Marx

Why have we let housing become a commodity subject to the unstable forces of supply and demand? Ian McAuley explains why we should focus more on the use value of a house instead of its mere exchange value.

Globalisation and the curse of guilt by association

There’s a growing public rejection of globalisation and economic openness, and we ignore it at our peril, says Ian McAuley.

A review of Robert Gordon’s ‘Rise and Fall of American Growth’

The economist Robert Gordon has recently written The Rise and Fall of American Growth, and its findings apply with some adjustments to Australia too. Ian McAuley says anyone who believes that changes in “productivity” and “efficiency” can be captured in a few simple metrics would do well to read at least a few chapters of Gordon’s work.

Four dysfunctional economic ideas

Australia is holding on to some economic ideas that have served us well in the past, but won't in the future. Ian McAuley says we need to break from these ideas that are holding us back.

A better way for the government to stimulate the economy

Are the measures in the Budget the best way to make progress on the structural issues Australia is facing? Ian McAuley and Miriam Lyons suggest a more assured way to revitalise the economy.

‘The Zero Marginal Cost Society’ – a review

Jeremy Rifkin has written a book discussing the trend in many fields toward zero or near-zero costs brought about by the so-called prosumer revolution, where consumers become producers as well. Ian McAuley says it is the book Karl Marx may have written today.