July 2024
Would you like a recession with that? New Zealand shows the danger of high interest rates
New Zealand’s central bank raised interest rates more than Australia and went into a recession – twice.
What would Trump 2.0 mean for the global economy?
The prospect of tariff hikes and higher inflation in a second Trump term has economic policymakers nervous, says Greg Jericho.
New union rights to boost workplace cooperation
New rights for volunteer union delegates are set to make workplaces more, not less, cooperative, according to a new analysis by the Australia Institute.
June 2024
Wages are clearly not driving inflation as new data shows wage growth is falling
With wage growth already falling, further interest rate rises would only serve to punish workers who are already suffering.
A nuclear nothingburger
The faux-debate over nuclear energy is a distraction from the main game – reducing our emissions to address the climate crisis, says Greg Jericho.
Webinar: Stop passing the buck -Workers’ compensation and ‘gig’ workers
Workers’ compensation and rehabilitation are amongst the most important legal issues facing the ‘gig’ economy. This reflects the potential vulnerability of these workers and their families, co-workers, and community to harsh and long term consequences from injuries. For a while, it looked like federal industrial policy might ‘solve’ the workers compensation problem by redefining ‘gig’/platform
The narrow path
At a time of major uncertainty in the economy, Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock’s honesty is refreshing, says Greg Jericho.
“I studied economics to better understand the world and equip me with better tools to serve society”
Prof Anis Chowdhury, an Associate of the Centre for Future Work, was recently appointed Emeritus Professor at Western Sydney University, in honour of his decades of influential work in progressive macroeconomics and development economics. Prof Chowdhury’s address on occasion of his installment provides an overview of his evolution as a progressive economist and significant impact on global policy:
Pick your poison
The government is trying to strike a delicate balance in the economy, getting inflation down without sending the country into recession, says Greg Jericho.
As wages struggle to keep pace with inflation the numbers of secondary jobs rise
More than 1.1m jobs are now being done by someone who has another job
No need for panic over ‘sticky’ inflation: Jericho
Inflation has stopped falling, but there’s no need for a further rate hike, says Greg Jericho.
May 2024
Walking the inflation tightrope
Inflation isn’t falling as fast as most economists want, but a rate rise now would do more harm than good, says Greg Jericho.
Does leave for menstruation and menopause advance women’s rights and gender equality at work?
As pressure grows for action to establish new work rights, including additional leave, for those who experience menstruation and menopause, the Centre for Future Work’s Senior Researcher, Lisa Heap, canvases the debate about whether these rights will advance gender equality at work.
The budget and why your wages are lagging 14 years behind
The pandemic and runaway inflation reversed more than a decade of progress on living standards in just two years – and it’s going to be a long wait for them to inch back, says Greg Jericho.
Calls for massive rate hikes and recession are cavalier: Jericho
Inflation will remain higher for longer, but a recession is not the solution, says Greg Jericho.
We. Do. Not. Need. A. Recession.
Calling for a ‘short recession’ as an economist is like calling for a ‘small war’ knowing you’ll never be on the frontlines, says Greg Jericho.
Increasing JobSeeker is possible, it’s just a question of priorities
The government has the power to make significant and long-awaited improvements to the JobSeeker scheme in this federal budget, but it has to make it a priority, says Greg Jericho.
JobSeeker drags people into poverty, but the government could fix this today
Budgets are about choices – and successive governments have chosen to punish jobseekers, says Greg Jericho.
April 2024
What the HECS?
Annual inflation is on the way down, but rents remain high and many people’s higher education loans are growing, even after repayments, says Greg Jericho.
Wages growth in enterprise agreements provides no reasons for worry about inflation
Wage growth in enterprise agreements is at a level completely compatible with long-term inflation targets
Backing the renewable horse
The government is under fire for trying to ‘pick winners’, but green manufacturing could be the pony to get behind, says Greg Jericho.
Investing in a renewable manufacturing industry is vital for Australia’s living standards (and climate)
Australia’s economy is less an advanced economy than it is a petrostate style simple economy. That needs to change
The market expects rates to fall – but that may be optimistic
Greg Jericho discusses the decisions facing the Reserve Bank in coming months and a new report showing that rate rises hurt Australians more than anyone in the world.
Who’s hurting most from rising interest rates? It’s probably you.
Soaring house prices, high household debt and the pervasiveness of variable rate home loans mean that Australians bear the brunt of interest rate rises, says Greg Jericho.
Video: The Right to Disconnect is NOT Bad for Productivity
The Right to Disconnect legislation being passed recently has attracted criticism from Opposition leader Peter Dutton and business groups, who say it’s bad for productivity. They may need to learn some basic maths, because they couldn’t be more wrong. Centre for Future Work Director Dr Jim Stanford explains. Research indicates the average Australian worker performs
Australia’s “stupid” surplus obsession must end
A budget surplus doesn’t mean a government is good at running the economy – we should focus on the choices they make instead, says Greg Jericho.
The big budget con
The budget balance usually steals the headlines on budget night, but it’s not that important, says Greg Jericho.
“It’s a scare campaign”: award wage rise won’t trigger inflation spiral
With unions calling for a five per cent increase to award wages, business groups are crying wolf over the proposal’s impact on inflation and unemployment, says Greg Jericho.
March 2024
Waiting for Godot (and wage-price spirals)
Despite claims by some business groups and commentators, a modest wage increase for workers isn’t going to send inflation skyrocketing, says Greg Jericho.
The RBA should keep its finger off the interest rate trigger
With unemployment tumbling in February, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) should resist the urge to raise interest rates, says Australia Institute Chief Economist Greg Jericho.
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