Decoupling the minimum wage and inflation

A 5% increase in the minimum wage has emerged as a point of difference in the election campaign, but there may be no need to link the minimum wage to inflation.

Sanctions on Russia could prove a windfall for Australia

Australia is Russia’s closest competitor in global markets and is the obvious winner as Putin’s pariah state loses exports due to international sanctions.

China’s coming industrial transformation and the threat to Australia’s economy

A fall in demand from China for Australia’s coal and iron ore, and competition from Russia on global wheat markets, could see exports of primary materials fall sharply in the future, forcing Australia to develop more profitable alternatives.

The moral market

The age-old political debate between market forces and central planning is as pertinent as ever, but the ability of markets to aggregate information and satisfy consumer needs can be harnessed in the cause of fairness and equality.

People make the world go round

Australians are getting a stark reminder about how value is actually created in an economy, and how supply chains truly work.

Global economic prospects for 2022

Will 2022 be the year where the world economy recovers from the pandemic? That’s the big question on everyone’s lips as the festive break comes to an end.

The new normal – How Covid changed the way we shop

With COVID cases in the tens of thousands around the country, the nation’s shops are less busy than usual for the January sales, but the pandemic may have also changed the way we shop forever.

Tempting back the backpackers

Making working holiday travel easy, fun and safe is not only vital to getting Australia’s tourism industry back on track – it’s critical for the country’s long-term engagement with the world.

New tool tracks national resource footprints

Australian researchers working with the United Nations have developed a tool to drive practical change in the world’s global resource consumption through better understanding how many resources each country consumes.

Remembering Geoff Harcourt

Australian economics has lost one of its most internationally renowned and prolific scholars with the passing of Geoffrey Harcourt at the age of 90.

Opening Australia’s trade window

Trade-related regulatory requirements are administered and enforced by more than 30 agencies at the federal level in Australia, as well as some at the state and territory level, with little coordination between them.

Chill, folks

True wages growth, and true price growth, is probably less than the official figures suggest – meaning there’s no need for alarm about inflation in Australia.