Articles
2023
Opinion piece: Albanese Government's Australian Centre for Evaluation to champion high-quality randomised trials
Social workers in schools always boost student outcomes. Drug offenders shouldn't be treated differently. Malaria bed nets are more likely to be used if people pay for them.
Opinion piece: Matildas show the way for Aussie competition
If anyone needed proof that competition drives better performance, you only need to look at the Matildas, whose peak World Cup soccer matches attracted more viewers than any Australian sporting eve
Opinion piece: No child's future should be pre-determined from their birth
A century ago, Banjo Paterson wrote in his poem ‘Boots’:
Opinion piece: Monopoly makes life harder for central banks
The job of the Reserve Bank is never easy, but it is especially challenging at times when inflation is outside the target band.
Opinion piece: Try it and see
Last year, researchers published a study in which ten different job training programs were evaluated through randomised trials – the way medical researchers test new drugs.
Opinion piece: Rebuilding communities in a 'friendship recession'
How many people can you talk to without having to watch what you say? In 1984, Australian adults averaged nine trusted friends. A generation later it had fallen to five.
Opinion piece: Choosing Openness – Key to Future Prosperity
None of us make our own running shoes, fix our own teeth, or build our own cars.
Opinion piece: Choosing openness in the international economy
The COVID pandemic was good for isolationists and xenophobes, and bad for globalisers and internationalists.
Opinion piece: Unfair practices hurt consumers, businesses, profits
In the economy, just as in sport, there are winners and losers. Sometimes you just play better on the day.
Opinion piece: How uncompetitive markets reduce wages
Folk music is replete with songs about struggling employees in company towns. In Sixteen Tons, Johnny Cash sings ‘You load 16 tons, what do you get?
Opinion piece: Making it fairer for all
My first music purchases were records. Mostly, I bought 45 RPM singles. But when I could afford them, I splurged on 33 RPM albums.
Opinion piece: Running better evaluations
As a keen runner, I’m pretty keen on going where the evidence points. In experiments, high intensity training produces remarkable gains, so I try to build it into every workout.
Opinion piece: Let’s stop governments from making the same mistake twice
In 1890, rust fungus wiped out much of Australia’s wheat crop, and the colonies had to import wheat. In response, farmer William Farrer used experiments to try to create a rust-resistant variety.
2022
Opinion piece: Market power and markups
It’s hard to ignore the growing body of evidence that excessive market concentration can lead to economic problems.
Opinion piece: Look overseas to see the virtues of more competition
Earlier this month, the competition watchdog released its inquiry into digital services.
Opinion piece: Economy needs its zip back
A generation ago, rules in some states governed when bakers could bake their bread.
Opinion piece: A race to the top on innovation, not a race to the bottom on tax compliance
Pharmaceutical company AbbVie make the world’s best-selling arthritis medication. They also specialise in causing pain for tax administrators.
Opinion piece: Giants must pay their taxes
Last year, academics from the University at Albany and the University of Missouri published a research paper arguing that company taxes should be abolished.
Opinion piece: Electric cars make the weekend more fun. Canberrans have known this for decades
Among Australian economists, few public servants are as revered as Roland Wilson, who ran the Treasury, the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Department of Labour, serving both sides of polit
Opinion piece: International Day of Charity: how a dollar can buy a valuable ‘helper’s high’
Imagine finding a dollar on the ground as you’re walking down the street.
It might feel like a bit of luck, a little sign that today is a good day.