The Dismal Science

What is a K-shaped recovery and are we in one? Plus we preview the budget that Prime Minister Morrison is calling the most important since World War II.

On our 50th episode, we ask whether October's budget or even lower interest rates can supercharge the recovery, which the RBA is describing as a 'slow grind'. Plus disappointing payroll jobs numbers, falling retail sales and Paul Keating gives the RBA a spray.

Surprise good news on the jobs front with unemployment falling below 7 per cent for the first time since the pandemic started. So where are the jobs coming from? Plus house prices, the US fed commits to not lifting interest rates for the long haul, New Zealand goes into recession and the effect unemployment on sleep.

With new data out on the Australian corporate footprint overseas, we ask what's the future of the foreign outpost in a post-pandemic world. Plus a speed round on this week's economic data.

The US Federal Reserve has changed the way it makes monetary policy decisions for the world's largest economy. Its former chair Janet Yellen said that the changes would appear subtle to most "normal human beings". So why is it such a big deal for economists? Plus the latest quarterly GDP numbers put Australia officially in its first recession in three decades. This episode was recorded on 3 Septem...

The Federal government looks to curb China's influence in the states, plus the Victorian situation continues to take its toll on jobs and investment.

We look at the latest GDP data from Scandinavia and ask whether Sweden has gotten the benefit of a more lenient approach to lockdowns. Plus RBA Governor Philip Lowe responds to his critics.

The Victorian second wave seems to have passed its peak but the lockdown continues to weigh down confidence, the RBA's new set of downbeat forecasts and wages growth slows to record lows. Apologies for the *dismal* audio quality on this one. We had some home technical problems in the home studios this week.

The US and Europe experienced ugly contractions in the second quarter, though China seems to be out the other side. Plus what the Victorian restrictions mean for the rest of the economy, the resilience of Australian exports and Zoom fatigue.

Australia has just experienced its worst deflation in 70 years. Should we be worried? Plus falling confidence, a rising dollar, more job losses, paid pandemic leave and the Robinhood effect.

The 'eye-watering' debt and deficit numbers released in the mini budget, the government extends JobKeeper, the RBA governor takes aim at Modern Monetary Theory, and the coronavirus spike in Victoria and NSW continues to weigh on confidence.

Should governments be more transparent in their thinking about the economy at a time of uncertainty? Plus the Victorian spike undermines confidence in the recovery and the problems with how global public health is funded.

Could this recession leave permanent scars on the economy? Plus the Victorian COVID spike dents confidence, the turn in the job market, the Fed buys Apple bonds and twenty years of the GST.

The grim IMF forecasts, record low job vacancies, what the Victorian spike means for the national economy and a very wonky discussion on the future of monetary policy.

More heartbreaking jobs numbers, the mystery of why sharemarkets are so high when the world is so low and directors call on the government to get radical. It's another long one this week. We've divided the topics up into chapters again. If you skip forward, we won't hold it against you.  

Australia's GDP contracted in the first quarter and Australia is now in its first recession in nearly thirty years. Are there any positives we can take from the latest GDP data? Plus New Zealand eliminates coronavirus and Ivan gets a test. We're late getting this one out but we will be back to our regular schedule with another episode this week.

Treasury made a $60 billion blunder on JobKeeper. Now what should we do with the spare money? Plus negative interest rates, the death of Oliver Williamson, global trade and superspreading. This is a big episode (every minute represents approx. $1bn of the JobKeeper shortfall). We've divided up the topics into chapters. If you skip forward, we won't hold it against you.

A record number of Australians lost their jobs in April and now one in five workers is either unemployed or underemployed. Plus the RBA's thinking on the property market, will working from home change the CBD and a rare cameo from our former Chief Economist, Stephen Walters.

The Reserve Bank has set out three scenarios for the Australian economy depending on how we go over the next six months in curbing the coronavirus. Plus the horror US jobs report, retaliatory China tariffs and confidence in Australia picks up. We're a little late getting this one out. Apologies to our loyal listeners. We recorded this last week before the Australian jobs numbers were released. We'...

Rising tensions over the Australian government's calls for an inquiry into the origins of coronavirus have raised old questions about our dependence on China. Plus more bad jobs news and the economics of vaccine development.

The coronavirus crisis has seen steep spikes in the prices of some goods and dramatic falls in others. Which should worry us more? Plus GDP growth in the US is turning out even worse than expected and we look at research into the media's influence on coronavirus cases.

There is some speculation that the lives lost due to the recession could outnumber those from the coronavirus itself. But the evidence from past downturns might surprise you. Plus the latest from China, what's going on with oil prices and the ugly jobs numbers start rolling in for Australia.

After two decades obsessing over budget surpluses, Australia is entering a new normal with a massive run-up in government debt to stop the economy from flatlining during the coronavirus crisis. Should we be worried and how will we ever pay it back?

With a coronavirus vaccine expected to take 12 to 18 months, smart people are starting to think about what steps we can take till then to quash the virus while getting back some semblance of normality.

As the global economy goes into freefall, policymakers are faced with a dilemma: how do they slow activity enough to halt the spread of coronavirus, while at the same time providing enough stimulus to keep the economy going.