Economic Papers最新文献

This paper studies the effect of tax evasion on consumption for a panel of OECD countries using annual data from 2003 to 2021. Our model includes the consumption percentage of nominal GDP as the dependent variable, with inflation, nominal GDP, interest rates, unemployment and tax evasion as explanatory variables. We use the shadow economy (as a percent of GDP) as a proxy for tax evasion. Results from our generalised method of moments model indicate that tax evasion is positively associated with consumption, likely because tax evasion increases disposable income. We discuss policy implications.

Taxes are levied on contributions to and earnings of Australian superannuation funds (but not on superannuants' withdrawals). For most people, the statutory rates are lower than the marginal personal income tax rate on their labour income. However, the effective rate of superannuation taxes can be much higher than the statutory rates, due to the compounding of taxes on fund earnings. Important normative and policy questions relate to whether the taxes on superannuation are too heavy or too light; imposed at the right junctures or not; equitable or inequitable between taxpayers. The answers should depend on objective claims about the effects of the taxation arrangements. To support those objective claims, various indices have been used to measure the burden of taxation on superannuation. This article questions the validity and interpretation of those indices and proposes an alternative. No attempt is made to sketch the optimal tax system for superannuation: The Tax and Transfer Policy Institute has issued a thoughtful paper on that (TTPI 2020). My objectives are limited: to critique the prevailing indicators of the effective rates of taxation and of the rate and quantum of tax concessions; to offer a preferred alternative; and to illustrate the quantitative and policy relevance.

This article summarises the state of the economics discipline in Australia. It looks at who studies economics, the nature of the pipeline of economics graduates, the extent to which economic skills are rewarded by the labour market and indicators of economic literacy in society. It highlights the falling size and diversity of the economics student population and discusses its implications. In contrast to the current state of economics, it notes that a robust and inclusive discipline can raise economic literacy, shape the future of economic thought and practice, and improve the quality of both public discourse and public policy.

To reduce the rate of inflation, Margaret Thatcher followed a policy of tight money. Milton Friedman in reviewing this policy predicted that it would lead to a modest reduction in output and employment (that) will be a side effect of reducing inflation to single figures by 1982, Friedman (1980, p. 14, my emphasis). I call this prediction Friedman's flaw. Evidence available when Thatcher introduced this policy would have revealed Friedman's flaw-the cost could have been expected to be immodest. From various biographical and other accounts, I put forward several reasons to explain how Thatcher's ideology made her susceptible to Friedman's flaw. I propose a theory based on loss aversion to explain the costly nature of disinflation.

This study examines the impact of chief executive officer (CEO) gender on environmental, social and governance (ESG) controversies among publicly listed non-financial firms in the USA from 2018 to 2023. The results show that firms led by female CEOs experience significantly fewer ESG controversies. In addition, the findings reveal that the mitigating impact of female CEOs on ESG controversies is more pronounced in firms with a critical mass of women directors and a female voice in corporate boards, creating an optimal environment for ethical and socially responsible practices, thereby reducing ESG controversies.

While research has explored the connection between oil prices and macroeconomic performance, there is limited understanding of the interaction between overseas energy imports dependency and macroeconomic fluctuations. This work addresses the foregoing study using the augmented mean group (AMG) econometrics technique on panel data of 29 OECD net energy-importing countries from 2001 to 2021. The long-run finding unearthed that energy dependency intensifies macroeconomic instability, confirming that relying on overseas energy imports will hamper the smooth functioning of domestic economic machinery in the form of energy supply interruption. Besides energy dependency, this study uses government consumption spending, regulatory quality, and globalisation as control variables in macroeconomic instability function. The long-run outcomes further depict that government consumption spending and globalisation aggravate macroeconomic instability while regulatory quality reduces it. These findings are further checked by applying the pooled mean group-autoregressive distributed lag (PMG-ARDL) method. In conclusion, this study provides policy implications to prioritise domestically produced energy use and diversify energy sources by increasing the share of clean energy in the total energy mix.

Costs associated with running local airports are spurring some local governments to pursue alternative governance arrangements. Some regional councils are considering privatisation, with four having already gone down this path. Although some of these arrangements broadly follow those specified by the Airports Act 1996, other arrangements have led to fragmented processes and reduced public engagement in local communities. The study reveals that, while long-term leasing aims to alleviate the council's financial burden, it can negatively impact the broader public interest. The findings suggest the need for more transparent and adaptable governance models to ensure that regional airports serve both commercial interests and public needs.

This paper explores “price gouging” in oligopolistic industries. Drawing from Australian examples, it illustrates how determining who is responsible for market power-related inefficiencies—whether from consumer or producer behaviour—is fundamental to defining and identifying price gouging. I then discuss how recent competition policy reforms in Australia and global changes in data availability and artificial intelligence shape firms' willingness and ability to price gouge. I close by discussing the future role of government in enabling pro-competitive pricing in our increasingly digital economy through information aggregation and market design.

The central idea behind the attainment of green growth is to attain sustained long-run economic growth without producing any harm to the environment. Green patents and renewable energy consumption are crucial to attaining green growth. As a result, this paper investigates the role of green patents and renewable energy consumption in promoting green growth in forty African countries. Keeping the cross-sectional dependence and heteroscedasticity among the panel in mind, the study employs the Panel Corrected Standard Errors (PCSE) model to examine its empirical exercise. The results based on the PCSE model find that both variables positively affect green growth in Africa. Consequently, our findings emphasise the significance of promoting green patents and renewable energy consumption as key policy measures to drive sustainable, long-term growth and elevate green growth within the African region.

Western economies, including Australia, have benefited from several decades of extraordinary Chinese expansion. Yet, in recent years, slowing growth and demographic decline has diminished these gains, while geopolitical developments have further restricted growth-driving commerce. Our purpose is to review key sources of recent contractionary changes within China and to assess their likely consequences for the West. Modelling scenarios emerge that see future economic losses in China and abroad, with the worst affected group being China's own low-skill workers. Long-term losses in the West are smaller but pervasive, with Australia's economic welfare per capita impaired most. Short-term effects depend on China's monetary policy response, with a freeing up of China's exchange rate likely to minimise harm both in China and abroad.