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Category: Public policy

Electricity and the perils of second-best thinking – Paul Kerin

In an article in Wednesday’s Australian, Paul Kerin argues that our governments should focus on “first-best” environmental and energy policies to best serve the overall public interest. He warns that the negative consequences of second-best policy choices (such as the large-scale renewable energy target (LRET) and the maximum price cap (MPC) on wholesale electricity) are […]

Posted in Business economics, Economic reform, Economic regulation, Infrastructure, Paul Kerin, Public policy, South Australian economy | Tagged |

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Benefits of free trade and better FTA governance – Paul Kerin on Alan Jones

Paul Kerin appeared on Alan Jones’ radio program yesterday making the case for free trade and the need to improve governance arrangements that would help ensure that future Free Trade Agreements deliver more of the considerable benefits that are potentially available. This follows on from the article that 7 leading economists (including former Industries Assistance […]

Posted in Business economics, Economic growth, Economic reform, International trade, Paul Kerin, Public policy | Tagged |

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The looming downside of household leverage – Mike Fitzsimmons & Paul Kerin

Today’s Australian contains a piece by Mike Fitzsimmons and Paul Kerin. The authors note the substantial increase is household leverage over the last quarter of a century, particularly the rise  (more than tripling) of household debt relative to cash disposable income. While this may in part be a good thing (reflecting better credit access in […]

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Showing the benefits of Europe – Hein Roelfsema

There is an atmosphere of cautious waiting in the Brussels air. Major elections to come in France, Germany, as well as here in the Netherlands. But already some very worrying first drops start to come down. A very undecided ‘State of the Union’ speech by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker succeeded in the goal of […]

Posted in Business economics, Economic reform, Hein Roelfsema, International trade, Public policy | Tagged |

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Apple tax decision European Commission implied powers – Hein Roelfsema

Although last week’s taxation decision by the European Commission (EC) was widely anticipated, the €13bn size of the Apple ruling last week caused a shockwave within the European Union (EU) as well as between the EU and the US. As a university professor at the start of the academic year, the Apple case provides for […]

Posted in Business economics, Economic reform, Economic regulation, Hein Roelfsema, International trade, Public policy, Taxation | Tagged |

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Call for key reforms in trade negotiations

I was honoured to be one of the economists who put their names to a major feature in today’s Australian, titled “Free trade mythology”. Despite the title, we are very much pro free trade – but we call for a number of reforms to our trade negotiation and communication governance processes and a renewed emphasis on […]

Posted in Business economics, Economic growth, Economic reform, International trade, Paul Kerin, Public policy | Tagged |

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EU sanctions on Russia: Quo Vadis? – Hein Roelfsema

A few weeks ago, the EU extended its sanctions against Russia for another 6 months. However, some days before that move Russia had already extended its sanctions on the EU for one and a half years. So, this fight is turning out to be a battle of wills or, better, a War of Thrones. Currently, […]

Posted in Hein Roelfsema, International trade, Public policy | Tagged |

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The three ‘C’s for policies to improve national productivity – Dean Parham

The election showed the electorate is fractious and demanding. With narrow-interest parties now elected to parliament, policymaking in pursuit of the long-term national interest is going to be challenging, if not problematic. This comes at a time when the need for Australia to adjust to more-difficult times has become even more pressing. In the background […]

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The Citizens Jury and the Proposed Nuclear Dump – Dick Blandy

“Citizens’ jury questions economics of nuke dump” is the headline to Rebecca Puddy’s article on page 2 of The Australian on Monday 11 July, 2016. Ms Puddy’s article begins: “The bid to establish a nuclear waste facility in South Australia has suffered a further setback, after an independent “citizens’ jury” raised concerns about the economic […]

Posted in Business economics, Dick Blandy, Economic growth, Public policy, South Australian economy | Tagged |

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Voting again beats minority government – Paul Kerin

In an article in today’s Australian, I expand on the argument I made on the Adelaide Economic Policy Forum article last Monday (available here) that unless one party can form a majority Federal government, it would be in the public interest to go back to the polls. The key point is that a majority government […]

Posted in Business economics, Economic growth, Economic research, Paul Kerin, Public policy | Tagged |

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