Monthly Archives: June 2014

The darker side of restrictive occupational licencing

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Nicholas Gruen
Posted in Economics and public policy | 9 Comments

Open Data and the G20

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Nicholas Gruen

From a recent column for the AFR. The report can be downloaded here. Earlier this year our Treasurer, Joe Hockey, led the G20 Finance Ministers to pledge lifting GDP by 2 percent over ‘business as usual’ over the next five … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics and public policy, Geeky Musings, Innovation, IT and Internet | 7 Comments

Clever new piece of work on what drove the industrial revolution

Posted on June 22, 2014 by Nicholas Gruen

Human Capital and Industrialization: Evidence from the Age of Enlightenment by Mara P. Squicciarini, Nico Voigtlaender – #20219 (DAE EFG) Abstract: While human capital is a strong predictor of economic development today, its importance for the Industrial Revolution is typically … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics and public policy, History, Innovation | 2 Comments

Is the struggle for equality of opportunity over?

Posted on June 16, 2014 by Don Arthur

Equality of opportunity was one of the big themes of Gough Whitlam’s 1969 and 1972 campaigns. His 1972 policy speech promised "a new drive for equality of opportunities" through reforms to education, health and urban planning. He argued that opportunity … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments

How to lie with statistics: the case of female hurricanes.

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Paul Frijters

I just came across an article in PNAS (the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) with the catchy title ‘Female Hurricanes are deadlier than male hurricanes’. It is doing the rounds in the international media, with the explicit conclusion … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 13 Comments

Do people know what’s good for them – or their children. (Hint: Not always)

Posted on June 7, 2014 by Nicholas Gruen

Human Capital Effects of Anti-Poverty Programs: Evidence from a Randomized Housing Voucher Lottery by Brian Jacob, Max Kapustin, Jens Ludwig – #20164 (CH ED HE PE) Abstract: Whether government transfer programs increase the human capital of low-income children is a question … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics and public policy, Education | Comments Off on Do people know what’s good for them – or their children. (Hint: Not always)

Are we nearly there yet?

Posted on June 7, 2014 by Nicholas Gruen

And the US has had better growth than Japan or Europe!

Posted in Economics and public policy | 3 Comments