Discussion paper
Are wages or profits driving Australia’s inflation? An analysis of the National Accounts
The distributional consequences of record high profits and record low real wage growth have been widely discussed in Australia recently, but the data presented in this paper suggests that rising profits are now the major driver of inflation.
Discussion paper
The role of Buy Now Pay Later services in enhancing competition in the Australian economy
This paper examines the current status of consumer credit and the market for Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) credit products.
Briefing paper
Wage price spiral or price wage spiral?
While significant concerns have been raised about the inflationary impacts of a five percent increase in the minimum wage, in reality, the authors of this paper argue that the direct inflationary impact of a five percent increase in all wages is only 1.27 percent, and...
Report
Permanent and political: an analysis of federal government spending post-pandemic
This paper argues that while an increase in Commonwealth spending is not itself evidence of a problem, the fact that the Morrison Government has failed to deliver on its commitment to rely only on temporary increases in expenditure creates several economic and democratic problems.
Report
Dam bad ideas – the lack of economic evidence for dam building in Australia
This paper argues that while dams have come to perform an important symbolic function in Australian politics, there is no evidence that their economic function is proportionate to their cost.