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economics
National affairs
Scott Morrison’s poisoned chalice
Adam Triggs
24 May 2019
As the economic challenges mount, has the government given itself enough room to act?
Books & arts
Markets are great, except when they’re not
Richard Holden
14 May 2019
Books
| John Quiggin’s new book should be compulsory reading for policymakers and commentators
National affairs
Labor’s bottom line
Tim Colebatch
11 May 2019
Election 2019
| There’s not much for the government to attack in Labor’s taxing and spending plans
Books & arts
Revivalists of the right
Rodney Tiffen
8 May 2019
Books
| Three men and four organisations were at the centre of a movement with an outsized impact on Australian politics
National affairs
How much will it cost to deal with climate change?
John Quiggin
6 May 2019
The government’s latest figures show there’s at least one wrong answer — and the same mistakes have been made before
National affairs
The next global downturn could be a nasty one
Adam Triggs
26 April 2019
But governments can act in advance to minimise its size and duration
National affairs
Campaign calculus
Mike Steketee
17 April 2019
The Coalition’s return to the debt-and-deficits theme invites scepticism
National affairs
Not the real budget?
Tim Colebatch
3 April 2019
The architecture is sound, the decor not so good, but the outlook for future budgets is worrying
National affairs
Ending the franchise to exploit your franchisees
Tim Colebatch
15 March 2019
Only the
Age
and its siblings recognised the big story of the day
Essays & reportage
Australia’s great urban experiment
Diana Bagnall
14 March 2019
When is an airport not just an airport? Western Sydneysiders are in the process of finding out
National affairs
It’s not where we are, it’s where we’re heading
Tim Colebatch
7 March 2019
This week’s GDP data adds to the uncertainty facing the government and the Reserve Bank
Essays & reportage
Too big to ignore
John Quiggin
7 March 2019
Monopolies and oligopolies have come to dominate Western economies, and the case for breaking them up is strong
National affairs
Dinner with Adam Smith
Brett Evans
22 February 2019
Conflict of interest allegations have turned an unsought spotlight on the Big Four consulting firms
National affairs
Cashing in on carbon reduction
Richard Holden & Rosalind Dixon
4 February 2019
Can parliament agree to a plan that would benefit all Australians while reducing emissions?
International
Capitalism in the dock
David Hayes
11 December 2018
Britain’s economic model has to change, and that may take another crisis
National affairs
On a mission to save democracy
Travers McLeod, Sam Hurley and Allison Orr
7 December 2018
Despite five prime ministers in five years and policy paralysis in Canberra, Australians don’t want to do away with democracy. They want to save it
National affairs
Trump’s trade deal won’t work. The G20’s will
Adam Triggs
2 December 2018
The weekend’s summit in Buenos Aires showed that the G20 is holding the line against Donald Trump’s attacks on the rules that govern trade
National affairs
Another Adani alarm
John Quiggin
30 November 2018
If this isn’t the latest in a series of false alarms, then Labor might finally be forced to disown the project
Books & arts
Curiouser and curiouser: the strange world of the global super-rich
Carmela Chivers
9 November 2018
To deal with industrial-scale tax evasion we might need to make our own foray down the rabbit hole
National affairs
Is manufacturing on the rise?
Jeff Borland
7 November 2018
New data suggests that jobs in manufacturing are bucking a decades-old trend. But are we comparing like with like?
Books & arts
On the brink
Jane Goodall
18 October 2018
Books
| Journalist Gabrielle Chan captures a new mood in country Australia
National affairs
In the shadow of America’s deficit
Saul Eslake
15 October 2018
With the US–China trade war escalating, the risks of a downturn are starting to overshadow the positive economic news
Essays & reportage
Watching a brilliant thinker stretching his mind
Graeme Davison
11 October 2018
Why should we read Hugh Stretton in the twenty-first century?
Books & arts
Will a robot take your job?
John Quiggin
27 September 2018
Review essay
| Three new books challenge lazy thinking about job-stealing robots and infallible algorithms
International
Indonesian democracy’s gathering clouds
Tim Colebatch
21 September 2018
On balance, it’s been a good first term for the Indonesian president. But is he putting the gains in danger?
Books & arts
A banker’s quest for legitimacy
Selwyn Cornish
13 September 2018
Books
| A former Bank of England official offers a warning about unelected decision-makers that Australia might already have heeded
National affairs
The surge before the storm?
Tim Colebatch
7 September 2018
Ten things you need to know about the state of the Australian economy
Essays & reportage
The irredeemable in pursuit of the insatiable
Nicholas Gruen
28 August 2018
It’s not just the finance industry — there are scandals as far as the eye can see
National affairs
Déjà vu all over again
Michael Gill
16 August 2018
Electricity-hungry aluminium smelters continue to push for more coal-fired power stations
National affairs
Forty years on, a sense of history gives way to alarm
Tim Colebatch
23 July 2018
Experts gathered in Canberra last week to pool their views about China’s forty-year record of economic reform, but Donald Trump’s trade war pushed its way to centrestage
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