The Economy, Stupid

Rules are meant to protect us. But sometimes they get in the way of doing good things. Is there a better way to regulate?

Many younger Australians are in financial freefall - has superannuation become a parachute that opens too late?

We don't measure our social media activity in GDP. But what would happen if we did? And are we richer or poorer because of consumer tech?

The government has promised to crack down. But victims can still be left owing debts they never created.

How did a world-leading disability fund find itself in peril? And what can be done to save it?

Consumer sentiment remains at fifty year lows. The Reserve Bank has surveyed Australians to find out why.

The first computer revolution was supposed to bring mass unemployment but didn't. Is this time really different?

Australia's early settlements were radical experiments in almost exclusively male societies. Their impact is still felt today.

Australia's social safety net is designed for those most in need - but increasingly the benefits are flowing to the wealthiest households.

California is seeking to introduce a tax on the wealth of billionaires. Is it time we did the same?

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 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

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?

We are reliving the 1930s, according to author Viktor Shvets. Is there a peaceful way out?

If Australian taxpayers were given the choice, would we be willing to pay for the services we need?

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?

For decades, governments have spent billions in hidden tax concessions that largely favour the ultra-wealthy. How did they get there?

Would cutting tobacco tax weaken a dangerous black market - or reverse decades of progress in reducing smoking deaths?

This week Labor touched the third rail of Australian politics: wealth and tax. Can it survive the backlash?

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 .