Hat trick!

Three articles in one day, and some not-so-good news

First, up the not-so-good news for July. Add the beginning of the month I tried and failed to complete the Gold Coast marathon, pulling out after 25 km. Later on 31 July, I had a bike crash and broke my wrist. I needed surgery, and had to withdraw from the Sunshine Coast 70.3, for which I was training.

The required rest will give me time to think about how I want to spend my time, and whether to continue full-time work and competitive triathlon, take up much of my time. I'd like to spend more time bushwalking and paddle boarding as well as reading for leisure.

I’m trying to ignore day-to-day politics, which I’ve found depressing lately. Instead, I’m working on ideas like the 4-day week, where I’m part of a large international research team, headed by eminent US professor Juliet Schor, and working with 4DayWeek Global. I’m also planning to write a new White Paper on Full Employment: this was promised by Labor before the election as an outcome of its Jobs Summit, but the word “full” has vanished, and the Summit seems more likely to focus on skill shortages (that is, the unwillingness of workers at all skill levels to work for the wages

Things went better on the academic front. Like most things, policy work has periods of feast and famine. Sometimes no one wants to hear what I have to say, and at other times, there’s more work than I can handle. The last) week of July was exceptional, with three articles published in a single day,

Quiggin, J. and Menezes, F. (2022), ‘Inflation is being amplified by firms with market power’, , The Conversation,27 July

Quiggin, J. (2022), ‘Labor has introduced its controversial climate bill to parliament. Here’s how to give it real teeth’, The Conversation,27 July

Quiggin, J. (2022), Full employment: The promise Albanese must keep, , Independent Australia 27 July

and another the day before

Mallawaarachchi, T. and Quiggin, J. (2022), ‘How did Sri Lanka run out of money? 5 graphs that explain its economic crisis’,

and a bit earlier

Quiggin, J. (2022), Forget inflation — the problem is falling real wages, Independent Australia, h 13 July.

Here’s a link to a more detailed media report (Password = quiggin)

Finally, another academic paper, with Bẽgona Dominguez, looking at the implications of low real interest rates for public investment.

Dominguez, B. and Quiggin, J. (2022), ‘Australia’s Fiscal Space: The Role of Public Investment’, Australian Economic Review

As always, comments, praise and friendly criticism very welcome

John