The Economy, Stupid

Episodes

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  What happens inside the RBA boardroom? 05.11.2026 29m

  Eight times a year, a handful of people make decisions that affect millions of Australians. What really goes on behind the closed doors of the Reserve Bank?
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  Have renters finally reached their limit? 29.10.2026 29m

  Rental prices have stalled despite fears of a deepening squeeze. Have tenants officially hit their breaking point?
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  Is Australian music at risk of extinction? 22.10.2026 29m

  New Australian voices are being lost beneath a digital avalanche. What will it take for them to be heard? 
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  Should we fear the bond market? 15.10.2026 29m

  “Bond vigilantes” are making governments around the world nervous. But what are bond markets, and why do they wield such power?
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  Has Australia hit its immigration speed limit? 08.10.2026 29m

  Migration helped build modern Australia. But are we now growing faster than the economy can handle?
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  'Sledgehammer with a nail in it': Do interest rate rises hurt the wrong people? 01.10.2026 29m

  The RBA's efforts to cool the economy will hit recent home buyers and workers hardest. Could the pain be better shared?
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  Australians will live longer in 2066, but in what kind of world? 24.09.2026 29m

  Despite optimistic forecasts of an economy transformed by technology, a worrying picture emerges in the latest intergenerational report. 
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  Can we cut red tape without cutting corners? 17.09.2026 29m

  Rules are meant to protect us. But sometimes they get in the way of doing good things. Is there a better way to regulate?
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  One Nation wants to allow early access to super. Is it a good idea? 10.09.2026 29m

  Many younger Australians are in financial freefall - has superannuation become a parachute that opens too late?
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  What is your digital life worth? 03.09.2026 29m

  We don't measure our social media activity in GDP. But what would happen if we did? And are we richer or poorer because of consumer tech?
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  How abusive partners turn the tax system into a weapon 27.08.2026 29m

  The government has promised to crack down. But victims can still be left owing debts they never created.
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  What can save the NDIS? 20.08.2026 29m

  How did a world-leading disability fund find itself in peril? And what can be done to save it?
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  This is what worries Australians most about the economy 13.08.2026 29m

  Consumer sentiment remains at fifty year lows. The Reserve Bank has surveyed Australians to find out why. 
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  Will AI really take our jobs? 06.08.2026 29m

  The first computer revolution was supposed to bring mass unemployment but didn't. Is this time really different?
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  What can convict Australia tell us about the manosphere? 30.07.2026 29m

  Australia's early settlements were radical experiments in almost exclusively male societies. Their impact is still felt today.
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  Harbour views and the full pension 23.07.2026 29m

  Australia's social safety net is designed for those most in need - but increasingly the benefits are flowing to the wealthiest households. 
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  Why not tax wealth, and why not start with billionaires? 16.07.2026 29m

  California is seeking to introduce a tax on the wealth of billionaires. Is it time we did the same?
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  The tricks they use to stop us getting cheaper petrol 09.07.2026 29m

  You're driving around looking for petrol, and you notice station after station charging exactly the same price. That could be because they are competing fiercely, and have cut prices to the point where they can't cut them anymore. Or it could be because they've coordinated. Professor David Byrne examined 1.6 million prices in order to find out. Guests: David P. Byrne, Ritchie Chair of Economic Research, The University of Melbourne.  Megan Flamer,  Senior industry fellow, RMIT University. Referred to: Negotiating Coordination: A Study in Retail Gasoline, David P. Byrne, Nicolas de Roos et al, The University of Melbourne, March 14, 2026 Learning to Coordinate: A Study in Retail Gasoline, David P. Byrne,  Nicolas de Roos, The American Economic Review, July 23, 2018 Price Discrimination by Negotiation: a Field Experiment in Retail Electricity, David P Byrne , Leslie A Martin , Jia Sheen Nah, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, April 19, 2022 Consumer search and income inequality, International Journal of Industrial Organization, David P. Byrne, Leslie A. Martin, International Journal of Industrial Organization December 2021  
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  Home prices are heading down, but how far? 02.07.2026 29m

  Home prices are falling for the first time in more than three years. Is Labor's housing policy starting to work? And if prices come down, who wins and who loses?  We unpack what's really driving the market, whether the budget's tax changes will make it easier to buy a home, what they mean for renters, and why Australia's housing affordability crisis can't be explained by immigration alone.  Guests: Matthew Bowes, Senior Associate, Grattan Institute Maria Yanotti, Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of Tasmania Referred to: Housing market downturn deepens as demand headwinds build, Cotality, July 1, 2026 The housing crisis that Australia built, Brendan Coates, Grattan Institute, March 11, 2026 More homes, better cities: Letting more people live where they want, Brendan Coates, Joey Moloney, Matthew Bowes, Grattan Institute, November 5, 2025 Housing submarket spillovers and COVID-19: the increasing influence of Australia’s regional cities, María Yanotti et al, December 31, 2025 Housing Q&A, Diana Mousina, AMP, June 18, 2026 Statement 4: Tax reform for workers, businesses and future generations, Commonwealth Budget, May 2026
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  Is tax reform even possible anymore? 25.06.2026 29m

  Now that the dust is beginning to settle, what has happened to Labor's tax reform?  And what does the way the debate played out tell us about the limits to what governments can do in the future?