Do Exporters Make Better Bosses?
At a time of global economic uncertainty, the issue of trade and employment is becoming the focus of public debate — particularly with the constant news of large scale lay-offs in the media. If this...
View ArticleEquality Is Never Having To Say You Are Sorry (Part II)
Today's apologies for past abuses — to immigrants, slaves or indigenous peoples — prompt nervous concerns that recriminations will lead to reparations. Yet, many forget that the United States paid out...
View ArticleAustralia and the Second Age of Macquarie
I recently did a lot of thinking about my country's convict heritage and the economics of colonial Australia. In fact, this year marks the 200th anniversary of the governorship of Lachlan Macquarie,...
View ArticleThe Uncertain Future: The World in 2111 (Part I)
A hundred years from now, the political map of the world will look pretty much the way it looks today. The things that had to change have, for the most part, already changed. There won’t be any...
View ArticleThe Elusive Quest for Energy Security
In the 1860s, the King of Siam offered to send the United States elephants to use as a means of transportation. U.S. President Abraham Lincoln turned down this offer of imported energy, expressing a...
View ArticleJulian Assange: Villain or Hero?
According to the critics of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, his release of confidential diplomatic documents needlessly put lives in danger, particularly those of American diplomats and their...
View ArticleAustralia: Out of Africa … And Back In
When South Africa emerged from the apartheid era in the mid-1990s, it was common to hear a plea to the world not to forget Africa simply because the apartheid battle was finished. Back then, “not...
View ArticleArgentina: What the Pope Left Behind
In order to measure the standard of living across international borders, The Economist magazine invented the Big Mac Index to show what it costs to buy a Big Mac hamburger in McDonald’s restaurants in...
View ArticleThatcher Vs. Hawke: Whose Reforms Worked Best?
In 1983, four years into Margaret Thatcher’s lengthy Conservative premiership in Britain, Australia took the opposite tack, voting in Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke, who was re-elected three times...
View ArticleUruguay: South America’s New Zealand?
Uruguay is the classic small player who “punches above its weight.” It only has 3.3 million people and is dwarfed by its larger neighbors Brazil and Argentina, with 197 million and 41 million people,...
View ArticleRanking U.S. Income Inequality
Income inequality is measured on the basis of the so-called Gini value. On this zero-to-100 scale, a lower value indicates a more equal distribution of income. The United States has had a Gini value of...
View ArticleWhy Other Nations Fail (But Australia Succeeds)
There is always a lot of handwringing about our nation in the lead up to Australia Day. Plenty of introspection and self-doubt about budget deficits, productivity and other topics are typical for a...
View ArticleAustralia and China’s New Goddess in White
Li Na’s hard fought victory in the Women’s final of the Australian Open was received in Australia right on the cusp of the Chinese New Year celebrations. World, take note: the latter are getting bigger...
View ArticleFrom the Paradise of Dissent to the Paradise of Diversity
The Australian economic historian Douglas Pike called South Australia’s social experiment of the 19th century the “Paradise of Dissent”. Now, in the 21st century I think we are becoming the “Paradise...
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Where Bangladesh Leaves India in the Dust
By Kaiser ZamanWhy do so many farmers commit suicide in India despite the country's booming economy?It is indeed paradoxical that India has made such strides in the economic field and is fast becoming...
View ArticleAustralia: Behind the Scenes at Beijing
By Tim HarcourtWhat behind-the-scenes influence has Australia had at the Beijing Olympics?As I move around a noisy, smoggy but very excited city, I notice Australia everywhere. Of course, there are the...
View ArticleCan China Save the World?
By Tim HarcourtWhat role will China play in helping solve the financial crisis?With America’s Wall Street woes and no muscles in Brussels, can “Super Panda” save the global economy? Many commentators...
View ArticleObamanomics: The View From Down Under
By Tim HarcourtWhat will "hope" and the new Obama Administration mean for the global economy?Hope is a much-underrated emotion in economics. Yet hope is especially important at a time of global...
View ArticleLooking on the Bright Side
By Martin WalkerIs the end in sight for the global economic crisis?The recession is going global, the markets are tanking again, the central banks are slashing interest rates in ways that smack of...
View ArticleDo Exporters Make Better Bosses?
By Tim HarcourtHow important are social safety nets, as opposed to trade protectionism, in a time of economic crisis?At a time of global economic uncertainty, the issue of trade and employment is...
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