Richard Holden
Financial Review
Sydney, NSW, Australia
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Past articles by Richard:
Serious action on the budget is essential
We don’t need a revolution, but we do need to see some hard decisions that can’t wait much longer. → Read More
Media code is a Stalinist show trial
The Morrison government needs to come to its senses and recognise that its proposed media bargaining code is absurdly slanted in favour of media companies. → Read More
Australia’s News Media and Digital Platforms Bargaining Code is Great Politics But Questionable Economics
If the Australian government wants to subsidize high-quality journalism then it should, well, subsidize high-quality journalism. The new proposed ACCC code would mess with the entire business model of tech companies and ultimately harm consumers. Editor’s note: follow our coverage of the dispute between Google, Facebook, and the ACCC here. We Australians are rightly proud … → Read More
The RBA needs a new post-virus monetary policy game
An inflation target made little sense before COVID-19, and none after it. → Read More
Of course the RBA should cut rates
The central bank still has some way to go to bring down joblessness and rekindle inflation. → Read More
The end of the checkout could mean a dire future for those without the right skills
There has already been a fair number of jobs lost to automation over recent decades – from factory workers to bank tellers. → Read More
'Hurt money' would fix executive pay
Rather than some squishy notion of corporate culture, force executives to buy stock to expose them to downside as well as upside risk, writes Richard Holden. → Read More
Say goodbye to the cold, hard cash in your pocket
The end of cash is very near. But you will still have to be disciplined about spending it. → Read More
Here's what we've learnt a decade on from the GFC
A little more than a decade on from the the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the largest bankruptcy in history, many of the world’s advanced economies are only now beginning to recover fully. → Read More
Dig deeper and the booming jobs figures don't look so rosy
The latest labour market data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics provide an instructive lens into the problems facing the federal government, the RBA → Read More
‘Choosing Openness’ grapples with the big questions
Andrew Leigh has written a clear and compelling reminder of the challenges in remaining open. → Read More
The government should pick country towns, not failing industries, to fund
Rather than propping up failing industries, what if government instead provided incentives like tax breaks for expanding firms to locate in regional centres? → Read More
The government should pick towns, not industries, to fund
OPINION: Rather than propping up failing industries, what if government instead provided incentives like tax breaks for expanding firms to locate in regional centres? This would help policymakers avoid a retreat to protectionism while also going some of the way to addressing rising inequality in Australia. So far in response to failing industries, policymakers have often tried to prop those… → Read More
Vital Signs: Trump’s innumerate budget makes Australia’s look plausible
Vital Signs is a weekly economic wrap from UNSW economics professor and Harvard PhD Richard Holden (@profholden). Vital Signs aims to contextualise weekly economic events and cut through the noise of the data affecting global economies. This week: An innumerate US budget puts poor people last, and Australia is yet to have a sophisticated discussion about tax reform. OPINION: The Trump… → Read More
Dismal Wages Growth Makes A Joke Of Budget Forecasts
As the cost of living keeps rising, but wages don't, people with close to no wiggle room get squeezed. → Read More
Malcolm Turnbull's 457 visa immigration crackdown disaster for universities
OPINION: If it's true that "the first revolution happens when you change your mind", then Malcolm Turnbull is quite the insurrectionist. His latest in a string of "I never said that" moments is to reverse course on skilled migration. Having previously accused Julia Gillard of an "attack on 457s strikes at the heart of skilled migration system" he decided to deliver the coup de grace to it. Since… → Read More
Vital Signs: If it looks like a housing bubble and sounds like a housing bubble…
Australia’s housing obsession continues, and it’s difficult to assess the future path of interest rates. → Read More
5 of the biggest myths about the federal budget
In the lead up to the federal budget on May 3, we asked five experts to dispel some of the most common myths associated with government budgets. 1. The federal budget is like a household budget Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW Australia The federal budget is nothing like a household budget. Not even a little bit. The key difference between government finance and household finances is… → Read More