Lectures have started at UQ, which would normally be a very busy time for me. But now that I’m in semi-retirement, I don’t have to struggle with Blackboard, lists of expected outcomes and so on. I enjoyed teaching, but I don’t miss any of that stuff.
I’m making an effort to finish outstanding research papers rather than starting any new projects. That’s not been entirely successful as people keep asking me to do new things, and I haven’t learned to say No
One big success was a publication by my former Honours student Tim Pegna, based on the model of competition in supply schedules Flavio Menezes and I have been working on for quite a few years. It’s ‘A dynamic model of resource extraction and intensity of competition’, accepted for Australian Economic Papers.
Another paper with a former Honours student, Peter Limerick, ‘Household structure and basic incomes policy’, has just been submitted to Basic Income Studies.
And I have a (relatively positive) review of Working Future, the government’s White Paper on Employment, which will be coming out in the Economic and Labour Relations Review in their “Contested Terrains” section.
On the sporting front, I’ve been spending a fair bit of time at the Sunshine Coast and have joined a couple of clubs (Sunshine Coast Tri Club and Trac Attack running), which has been enjoyable after a couple of years when I’ve largely trained alone.
After a disappointing result in the QTS Caloundra Sprint (750/20/5) triathlon, I decided to take it easy in the Mooloolaba Olympic (1500, 40, 10), which has been the high point of my annual sporting calendar since 2011. But I was very pleased with my time of 3:14:13 in very windy conditions, my third best and only ten minutes outside my 2019 PB.
I was pleased enough to sign up for a 2km swim and 21.1 km run (successive days) at Noosa in May.And as usual, I’ve signed up for two charity events, MS Brissie to the Bay cycle and Fred’s Big Run. I’ll be starting fundraising soon. Get the credit cards ready
As always, comments and contact much appreciated
Opinion
Light-touch competition policy hasn’t helped Australian mortgage holders. It’s time to get tough, Guardian 22 February
Back to the office: a solution in search of a problem, Inside Story, 23 February
Dutton wants a ‘mature debate’ about nuclear power. By the time we’ve had one, new plants will be too late to replace coal The Conversation, 28 February
From micro to macro, Andrew Leigh’s accessible history covers the economic essentials, The Conversation, 7 March
Media* (link in previous message was incorrect)
My media report for February, password quiggin (Thanks as usual to Alysha Hilevuo for preparing this)
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