The current crisis is an opportunity to reduce inequalities and inefficiencies in the economy, and to prepare us for the next phase of economic development. In this discussion paper, the authors look at some mechanisms for improving the equity and efficiency of stimulus spending.

The economic crisis caused by lockdown measures in response to COVID-19 has distorted the Australian economy. The economic costs of lockdowns have not been equally shared across the country. This paper outlines five key pieces of evidence that lockdowns, rather than freezing the economy in place, have disfigured it.

Economists and others have worried about the long-run outlook for the federal debt for decades, recognising that the ageing of the baby boom generation would lead to budgetary pressures associated with increased spending. Set in the American context, this guide covers many issues that currently prevail in Australia.

As the spread of COVID-19 pandemic continues unabated across the globe, impinging on all the three components of Human Development Index (HDI) – income, health and education, the UNDP 2020 Human Development Perspectives estimates a fall in human development to the levels of deprivation that has precedents back in the mid-1980s.

This report examines historical trends in JobSeeker payment expenditure and recipient demographics, the drivers of these trends, and the implications for Commonwealth Government expenditure on the JobSeeker payment over the medium term.