The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released the latest – Consumer Price Index, Australia – for the March-quarter 2025 today (April 30, 2025). The data showed that the inflation rate rose by 0.9 points in the quarter but over the 12 months was stable at 2.4 per cent . The inflation rate has been within…
Central banking
“Fiscal support can manage the direct economic fallout from extreme weather events.” That quote came from an interesting new research paper published in the 98th edition of the Bank of International Settlements Bulletin (February 10, 2025) – Macroeconomic impact of extreme weather events. The paper seeks to tease out what the economic impacts and policy…
The last several decades of what is termed the neoliberal era has led to some fundamental changes in our social and economic institutions. It was led by the interests of capital reconfiguring what the polity should be doing, given that most of the significant shifts have come through the legislative or regulative capacity (power) of…
by Patrick Honohan*, Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland (2009-15) That politicians should leave it to central banks to set interest rates in such a way that price stability is maintained (and restored whenever it is lost), has been an article of faith with most economists, especially since the stagflation of the 1970s given […]
Last week, I wrote about – The decline of economics education at our universities (February 6, 2025). This decline has coincided and been driven by an attempt by economists to separate the discipline from its roots as part of the political debate, which includes philosophical views about humanity and nature. In her 1962 book –…
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released the latest – Consumer Price Index, Australia – for the December-quarter 2024 today (January 29, 2025). The data showed that the inflation rate rose by just 0.2 points in the quarter and has fallen to 2.4 per cent on an annual basis (down from 2.8 per cent). The…
I have been working in Manila this week as part of a ‘knowledge sharing forum’ at the House of Representatives which was termed ‘Pathways to Progress Transforming the Philippine Economy’ that was run by the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department, attached to the Congress (Government). I am also giving a presentation at De La…
I have been arguing throughout this latest inflationary episode that the central bank rate hikes were actually introducing inflationary pressures through a number of channels, the most notable one in the Australian context being the rental component in the Consumer Price Index. The RBA has categorically denied this perversity in their policy approach, and, instead,…
Today (November 27, 2024), the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released the latest – Monthly Consumer Price Index Indicator – for November 2024, which showed that the annual underlying inflation rate, which excludes volatile items continues to fall – from 3.5 per cent to 3.2 per cent. The overall CPI rate (including the volatile items)…
Welcome to 2025. My blog recorded its 20th year of existence on December 24, 2024 which I suppose is something to celebrate. But when I look out the window and try to find optimism I fail. Who knows what the year holds and global uncertainty is dominating the narratives surrounding economic developments. We have a…