Month: August 2012

Insights

An economist’s physics envy

31/08/2012
If economics wants to be as successful as the natural sciences, it should perhaps rethink using their language and methods. Seeing economics as a discipline that has more to do with history, politics and psychology than with mathematics may be the first step.

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Business Spectator

The myth of mighty Merkel

30/08/2012
Whatever possessed Forbes Magazine to put Merkel on the No.1 spot of the most powerful women in the world remains a mystery. A place somewhere between Shakira (#40) and Angelina Jolie (#66) would have been more appropriate. One has to fear that Forbes’ female ranking is really only determined by appearance.

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Business Spectator

How to cope with grey Australia

24/08/2012
As the Productivity Commission points out: “Population ageing can only be conceived as a crisis if we let it become one”. Dramatically cutting population growth is a sure fire way to make that crisis a reality.

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Insights

The wrong population question

24/08/2012
Building roads, rails, schools and houses may not be as intellectually stimulating as discussing population growth, but it is what Australians should really be doing instead of debating whether they want a bigger Australia.

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Business Spectator

A devalued euro will solve nothing

23/08/2012
As much as I understand the esteemed economists’ desire to end the euro crisis quickly, even with bizarre proposals such as euro devaluation, not every medicine is effective and not every cure is better than the disease.

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The Australian

Make population growth work

22/08/2012
A growing population can bring economic benefits. It goes hand-in-hand with increased prosperity and better standards of living. It delivers a larger, better-skilled labour force and more vibrant cities. The real challenge is not to stop population growth. It is making population growth work.

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Research reports

WHY vs WHY Big Australia

22/08/2012
In WHY vs WHY™ Big Australia, we pit opposing writers against each other, Jessica Brown & Oliver Hartwich (YES) vs Mark O’Connor (NO). They go head-to-head, each side presenting 7 key reasons why you should say yes/no to Big Australia.

After each side presents their arguments, the opponent then tries to tear each of them apart, both in the book & on this website (with further rebuttals). For readers, we aim to leave nothing unanswered.

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Insights

Radical solutions to world debt crisis

17/08/2012
Having unsuccessfully followed textbook advice on dealing with the global financial crisis, it is high time to explore alternative ways of dealing with the root causes of the crisis. Whether politicians have the courage to touch Tanzi’s radical solutions is a different question.

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Business Spectator

A radical exit from global financial crisis

15/08/2012
Once it is finally realised that this economic crisis is not an ordinary recession, perhaps we will stop deploying Keynesian remedies and begin more fundamental reforms as advocated by Tanzi. But then again, it took several decades until communism’s apologists ran out of excuses – and some are still at it.

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