Category Archives Economics

The budget that brings home the median voter?. Sometimes political science can feel a bit removed from the reality of politics. But in election years, it’s good to be reminded that the median voter theorem really does hold. The further behind a government thinks it is, the more it is likely to present policies that are very similar to those…

The New Nationalisers?. I was chatting with my colleague Bob Gregory about the budget today. Speaking with Bob is wonderful, since he always has something to say that’s a bit different from the punditry. This morning, he said “You know, it’s interesting. The public sector used to own assets like Qantas and the Commonwealth Bank. Then we sold them off.…

OECD broadband statistics to December 2006. Over the past year, the number of broadband subscribers in the OECD increased 26 per cent from 157 million in December 2005 to 197 million in December 2006. This growth increased broadband penetration rates in the OECD from 13.5 in December 2005 to 16.9 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants one year later. [Creative Economy :…

Premature Births Peak Seasonally When Pesticides And Nitrates In Surface Water Are Highest. The growing premature birth rate in the United States appears to be strongly associated with increased use of pesticides and nitrates, according to new research. Preterm birth rates peaked when pesticides and nitrates measurements in surface water were highest -- April-July -- and were lowest when nitrates…

Merit, yes... Although assumptions about future returns are predicated on current labour-force structures? The debt/liability is permanent!  Jobs... not so much? HECS for TAFE: the case for extending income contingent loans. In this paper, a case is argued for introducing an income contingent loan to the VET sector. The economic underpinning is similar to the Higher Education Scheme (HECS) which…

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