Richard Holden
Unemployment will always exist. But our goal must be less than 4 per cent
One of the most concerning things that happens in any recession is the spike in unemployment. The COVID-19-induced recession in Australia and...
Vital signs: Rules are also signals, which is why easing social distancing is such a problem
Australia’s states and territories have begun relaxing the restrictions put in place to contain COVID-19. On Friday, for instance, the most populous...
Vital Signs: Climate-linked financial crises loom, but the fix isn’t up to central banks
The Bank for International Settlements – the “central bank” for central banks – made headlines this week with a report outlining how the next...
The end of the checkout signals a dire future for those without skills
There has already been a fair number of jobs lost to automation over recent decades – from factory workers to bank tellers....
Vital Signs: Australia’s nation-building opportunity held hostage by the deficit daleks
As anticipated, the Australian government downsized a number of its economic forecasts in the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) released this...
Vital signs: Australia’s wafer-thin surplus rests on a mine disaster in Brazil
On Monday the Australian government will release the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO). This will – as required by the Charter...
Good and bad, low rates do much more than just lift house prices
With the Reserve Bank of Australia cutting official rates to 0.75 per cent on Tuesday, there has been a wave of commentary...
Trump’s antics could burn a hole in Australia’s economy
US President Donald Trump is at it again. He triggered trade tensions with China in January 2018 by imposing tariffs on Chinese...
Why we need those tax cuts now – all three of them
In an enormous week for economic news at the start of the month, Parliament passed the government’s three-stage personal income tax plan,...
Before the Kiwis, Australia laid out a wellbeing framework
Amid all the fanfare around New Zealand’s so-called “well-being budget”, you would be forgiven for thinking our neighbour to the east had...