Austerity



Peter Fisher, Treasury under-secretary in George W. Bush’s administration, once memorably described the US government as “a gigantic insurance company (with a sideline business in national defense… Read More ›

Why Social Policy Counts

Unexpected bills can be a challenge for any household. But for people who rely on social security payments, the unexpected news of a significant debt… Read More ›

Timing It Wrong: Benefits, Income Tests, Overpayments and Debts

The European Union decided in October 2015 to establish a European Fiscal Board (EFB). The EFB is an “independent advisory board on fiscal matters,” with… Read More ›

The European Fiscal Board: Challenges and Opportunities

The financial hardship of poor working families represents a key policy challenge in many countries. Sue Regan interviews Jane Millar, Professor of Social Policy at… Read More ›

An Interview with Professor Jane Millar, OBE

Budgetary issues in Australia have dominated public policy discussion at the federal level since the 2008-10 Global Financial Crisis (GFC). Governments at both national and… Read More ›

Tackling Australia’s Public Debt Problem

This post is the first of a four part series on the topic. The political and media storm about “zero net taxpayers” Following Duncan Storrar’s… Read More ›

Should We Be Worried About “Zero Net Taxpayers”?

Legislative Budget Offices (LBOs) are independent institutions staffed with economists that provide rigorous and non-partisan analysis to legislatures on matters pertaining to the budget. Their… Read More ›

How do we Measure the Success of Legislative Budget Offices?

In recent decades, income inequality has increased in many developed countries. Although fiscal policies are the main tools available to policymakers to address widening inequality,… Read More ›

Australian Fiscal Policy and Income Inequality: Recent Trends

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