Super myths and reality
Our new paper finds that when super goes up, wages grow more slowly. This has sparked a lively debate – and the need to correct some myths and misconceptions about our work.
Three things the new donations data tell us about the 2019 federal election
Nine months after the 2019 federal election the donations data is finally out – here’s what it reveals about money in Australian politics
read more Three things the new donations data tell us about the 2019 federal election
The electricity sector alone can’t meet Australia’s emissions reduction challenge
Australia has a de facto national target of net zero emissions by 2050. But Australian government projections suggest we are not on track to achieve this target, with emissions reductions in the electricity sector being undermined by a lack of progress in the rest of the economy.
read more The electricity sector alone can’t meet Australia’s emissions reduction challenge
The curious case of the missing superannuation fees
A recent OECD report claims Australia’s superannuation system has some of the lowest fees of any pension system in the world. But the report is based on flawed data that misses much of the story.
read more The curious case of the missing superannuation fees
Who contributes to policy reviews?
Do some people have too much influence over public policy in Australia? This blog post shows that older people, and men, were heavily over-represented in submissions to the 2015 Tax White Paper.
More of the same in private hospital insurance data
There is no good news for private health insurers in the quarterly health Insurance statistics released today.
read more More of the same in private hospital insurance data
Debunking a private health scare campaign
The private health insurance industry likes to warn Australians of a doomsday scenario. Don’t believe it.
What’s driving the rebound in house prices since the election?
Looser macro-prudential rules, rather than the federal election result, appear to be driving a rebound in house prices in Sydney and Melbourne.
read more What’s driving the rebound in house prices since the election?
McKell makes unsupportable claims about superannuation and wages
A recent McKell Institute report makes unsupportable claims about how superannuation interacts with wages to justify higher compulsory super contributions. McKell’s analysis doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. Here’s why.
read more McKell makes unsupportable claims about superannuation and wages
The case for redefining low socioeconomic status in higher education
Since the early 1990s, higher education statistics have defined someone as of low socio-economic status if they are from a region classified in the lowest 25 per cent in Australia according to the ABS Index of Education and Occupation. Wouldn’t it be better to pay more attention to areas that for whatever reason have low university participation rates, even if quirks of the Index of Education and Occupation formula give them SES ratings that disqualify them from low-SES rewards? Why use proxy data when we have direct measures of whether an area has low participation in higher education or not?
read more The case for redefining low socioeconomic status in higher education