The Economy, Stupid

Эпизоды

• Why not tax wealth, and why not start with billionaires? 16.07.2026 29мин

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

  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  
• Home prices are heading down, but how far? 02.07.2026 29мин

  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
• Is tax reform even possible anymore? 25.06.2026 29мин

  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? 
• How to avoid a world on fire 18.06.2026 29мин

  We are reliving the 1930s, according to author Viktor Shvets. Is there a peaceful way out?
• Is bracket creep saving us from ourselves? 11.06.2026 29мин

  If Australian taxpayers were given the choice, would we be willing to pay for the services we need? 
• Australia is in a 'vibecession' - is a recession next? 04.06.2026 29мин

  The latest economic figures suggest we're not in a recession. But new ABS data shows our overall life satisfaction is in decline. So which numbers should we trust?
• Australia's $200 billion budget secret 28.05.2026 29мин

  For decades, governments have spent billions in hidden tax concessions that largely favour the ultra-wealthy. How did they get there?
• How to end the tobacco wars 21.05.2026 29мин

  Would cutting tobacco tax weaken a dangerous black market - or reverse decades of progress in reducing smoking deaths?
• Could Labor's budget narrow the wealth gap? 14.05.2026 29мин

  This week Labor touched the third rail of Australian politics: wealth and tax. Can it survive the backlash?
• The budget and housing — a fix? 13.05.2026 33мин

  What does the federal budget really do for Australia’s housing crisis? Peter Martin from The Economy, Stupid joins Anthony Burke from By Design to examine whether changes to tax settings will make it any easier to buy a home. Peter Martin is an economist and the host of The Economy, Stupid, a weekly guide to the world of business, economics and finance. Listen to The Economy, Stupid here.
• Interest rate rises are designed to hurt. But how much is too much? 07.05.2026 29мин

  When RBA governor Michele Bullock announced the third consecutive interest rate rise this week, she acknowledged the real-world suffering that would result. But just how much pain is too much? And is there a better way?
• Inflation’s jumped again - is another rate rise coming? 30.04.2026 29мин

  Inflation has surged to its highest level in years, driven by soaring fuel prices, higher energy costs and global instability. For households already squeezed by rate rises, the pressure is mounting. Is this a short‑term shock the Reserve Bank can look through or the start of another prolonged inflation fight? What happens next for interest rates, wages, jobs, and the economy as a whole just one week before the Budget? Guests: Diana Mousina, Deputy Chief Economist, AMP David Bassanese, Chief Economist, BetaShares Show links: See how the price of everything has changed, ABC News StoryLab, March 30, 2026 Consumer Price Index, Australian Bureau of Statistics, March 29, 2026 Why the official inflation rate feels wrong, The Economy Stupid, October 30, 2025 Stagflation is about to push unemployment higher: here's what to expect, The Economy Stupid, March 26, 2026
• Australian gas is booming. But who benefits? 23.04.2026 29мин

  Australians might expect to benefit from the global rush on our natural gas resources. But will we?
• Why we still can’t quit petrol even as prices soar 16.04.2026 29мин

  Petrol prices are up, car use is down, public transport and electric cars are booming, yet Australians are buying petrol more often than ever. Bank data shows panic topping‑up, driven by fear, not need. In this episode of The Economy, Stupid, we explain why fuel demand barely shifts with price and what it will take to finally break our dependence on petrol and diesel. Guests: Adam Triggs, Economist at consultancy Mandala; Researcher at the Australian National University and the Brookings Institution. Paul Burke, Energy specialist and long‑time researcher at the Australian National University.
• What could be in the budget? 09.04.2026 29мин

  You know what they say about a crisis, suddenly, all sorts of things become possible. During the COVID crisis, the government doubled Newstart, paid wage bills, and allowed access to super - things that had almost no chance of happening. Right now, with the budget just weeks away in the midst of a crisis almost anything is on the table. What may that include? Guests: Tom Crowley, ABC economics reporter.  Bob Breunig, tax expert. 
• Australia’s baby bust: what happens when a nation stops replacing itself? 02.04.2026 29мин

  Australia’s birth rate is collapsing, heading for a record low next year, well below the level needed for the population to replace itself.  Fewer couples, fewer kids, and a world where ageing societies reshape everything from innovation to taxes. Why is this happening everywhere at once, and what does it mean for your future? Guests:  Viva Hammer, ANU population researcher and tax expert Myriam Robin, AFR senior writer
• Stagflation is about to push unemployment higher: here's what to expect 26.03.2026 29мин

  What happens when the economy stops playing by the rules? We’re taught that inflation and unemployment move like a seesaw, one goes up, the other goes down. But sometimes the seesaw snaps. Prices climb and people lose jobs at the same time.  It happened dramatically in the 1970s, and with oil prices surging again and global tensions rising people are whispering the word Stagnation once more.  Guests:  Professor Bob Gregory, one of Australia’s most influential economists, who watched the original outbreak of stagflation unfold and later sat on the Reserve Bank board during another era of economic upheaval. Gareth Hutchens, ABC business and economics reporter who has spent years examining how these big economic shocks ripple through everyday life.
• Did the RBA just choose recession? 19.03.2026 29мин

  The Reserve Bank says it’ll do whatever it takes to crush inflation, even if it means Australia falls into recession.  But for millions of Australians, the pain is already here with petrol prices soaring and mortgage repayments climbing. So did the RBA really have no choice but to lift rates again? Or is this a risk the Bank didn’t need to take? Guests:  Gianni La Cava, Former Senior Research Manager at the Reserve Bank of Australia; now Senior Economist at the e61 Institute. Cherelle Murphy, Oceania Chief Economist, EY
• Navigating a global energy crisis 12.03.2026 29мин

  From food security to fuelling our air force, the global oil crisis threatens far more than the cost of driving a car. So what happens next?