Comments on: Graphaturday – Economic Indicators

By: derrida derider

derrida derider — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 01:56:56 +0000

“Economic policy makers over the last forty years can take a bow”
Umm, surely that should be “economic policymakers of forty years ago deserve pillorying”?

The Great Inflation is surely the economics profession’s great shame. Unlike the Great Depression it can’t be explained away by the difficulties of destroyed trade and capital markets due to war; the shocks that led to it were relatively minor. Macroeconomists, in particular, should not be congratuling themesleves that they are now merely “competent”.

By: James Farrell

James Farrell — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 12:01:52 +0000

1. The new low inflation regime had been in place for five years before Howard arrived: there is no distint ‘Howard chapter’ in the inflation story.

2. The differences in investment and labour force participation are insignificant – an illusion due to the scale of the graphs.

By: Cam

Cam — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 03:05:52 +0000

Nicholas, Doh. Fixed the link, it now points here.

By: Nicholas Gruen

Nicholas Gruen — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 01:56:50 +0000

You’ve linked to the wrong thing Cam. That is unless you really meant to link to the Parliamentary Library’s digest of “Tax Laws Amendment (2007 Measures No. 4) Bill 2007″

One big issue is when to start the periods of the variouis Govts. Obviously their policies took a while to have an effect.

By: Jacques Chester

Jacques Chester — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 22:42:53 +0000

Aaaaaand cue huginormagantuan monetary policy sh*tfight, stage right.

By: observa

observa — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 22:32:59 +0000

“When averaged across administrations it shows that governments have had a consistent policy of stabilising inflation until we have the mechanism today where an apolitical body, the Reserve Bank, makes interest rate decisions.”

Our Reserve Bank, like its fellow brethren around the world has just been shown to be full of overpaid, pompous gits masquerading as economic experts. The Austrians would be rolling in the aisles with laughter at these emperors without clothes, if their complete nakedness over the last few days was not so bloody serious. We had them raising interest rates (or those that didn’t mumbling about the need to soon), only to have them fling the money they’d effectively been rolling off the printing presses for years, to the screaming hordes below. Two hundred billion and counting-
http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,23636,22226076-31037,00.html
The gross mismangaement and profligacy, not to mention the false economics of our central bankers, is now laid bare for all to see. It was hidden for years by a demographic cohort of baby boomers that drove the consequent malinvestments in asset prices to the absolute disaster that now must be totally unwound. Our central bankers are charlatans and impostors and so are all who travel with them. We had a simple mechanism for such rogues and snake oil merchants in the past. Tarring and feathering. Still the housing affordability crisis is about to be solved, providing you still have a job and Wayne Swan is soon to get a crash course in being the world’s graetest treasurer. I’d suggest you lay in a good stock of tar and feathers for starters Wayne.

By: Yobbo

Yobbo — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 21:56:05 +0000

What can we conclude? If John Howard cured cancer, Chris Sheil would still think he’s worse than Hitler.

By: cs

cs — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 15:23:53 +0000

Mainly that Australia has had good governance and the economic policies have been consistent from one administration to another in seeking better economic outcomes. There was an obvious change to economic liberalisation or rationalism in the 1980s which has been continued to this day. In conjunction with globalisation this has advanced Australian growth and prosperity.

Too Pollyannerish for my taste Cam. Most of these would look worse than the previous 30 years, except for how hard eeryone now has to work, and in any event they’re consistent with worldwide OECD trends. What can we conclude? Australian bureaucrats basically advise compliant governments to follow the international herd, leading us into an ever more precarious and overworked economy since the mid-70s. There now, I trust you suitably depressed.

More seriously, that business investment graph could be a worry, if the world hits the wall (and the joint is rumbling as I type). It could be a long way down to square that pile off.