Richard Holden
School of Economics - Ph.D, A.M. Harvard | BEc (Hons) Sydney
From This Author
Biden’s economic centrism isn’t exciting, but right for these divisive times
Joe Biden's middling economic policies offer a chance to cut through the bitter polarisation of US politics, writes UNSW Business School's Richard Holden
When skill met luck: 4 things Australia’s COVID-19 response got right
A great measure of skill on the part of government policy (and a good dose of luck) helped Australia avoid a COVID catastrophe in 2020, writes UNSW Business School’s Richard Holden
Janet Yellen: the very model of a modern Madam Secretary
The next US Treasury Secretary – widely tipped to be Janet Yellen – will take office with the US in the worst economic shape since the Great Depression, writes UNSW Business School’s Richard Holden
Why Australia needs to prepare for a global carbon price now
Australia needs to take bigger steps towards a cleaner and greener economy, and it can do so without disadvantaging exporters, writes UNSW Business School's Richard Holden
Why an ongoing unemployment rate of 5.5 per cent is intolerable
Monetary and fiscal authorities should use all the firepower at their disposal to avoid ongoing unemployment rates of 5.5 per cent, writes UNSW Business School's Richard Holden
Google's market share doesn't automatically make it a monopoly
Just because a tech company has a big share of the market doesn't mean it has the power to keep it, writes UNSW Business School's Richard Holden
Strategic manufacturing: why Australia needs a different approach
It makes sense for Australia to take a more strategic approach to manufacturing certain equipment, even if producing these goods locally is not as efficient as buying them from overseas, writes UNSW Business School’s Richard Holden
The federal budget makes fiscal sense but avoids tricky tax reform
By not bringing phase 3 tax cuts forward in its federal budget, the government risks waiting too long to begin the task of serious tax reform, writes UNSW Business School’s Richard Holden
Google shouldn't subsidise journalism, but the government could
Making Google and Facebook pay Australian news publishers might be good politics, but it is odd economics, writes UNSW Business School's Richard Holden
Milton Friedman told us greed was good. He was half right
50 years ago Milton Friedman declared that greed was good, but there was always more to the story – as well as making profits firms hold the unique power to achieve social objectives, writes UNSW Business School's Richard Holden
How do you fight a recession without precedent?
The current recession is an unusually deep one, and digging out of it will require first containing and defeating the virus followed by significant spending in addition tax cuts, writes UNSW Business School's Richard Holden
How COVID-19 accelerated the university funding crisis
Australia's higher education sector needs significant reform to remove the perverse incentives that have made universities dependent on revenue from international students, writes UNSW Business School's Richard Holden
Lessons from AMP: how can shareholders effect company change?
With the resignation of key board members from AMP, UNSW Business School's Richard Holden says company shareholders looking to achieve socially optimal goals need to speak up and be heard
The RBA has done all it can – now it's up to the government
With the Reserve Bank Australia having exhausted the limits of monetary policy, now is the time for the government to step up – like reducing imposts on business by lowering taxes, writes UNSW Business School's Richard Holden
Shorter meetings but longer days: how has COVID-19 changed the way we work?
COVID-19 induced lockdowns have reduced the amount of time most workers spend in meetings but increased their working hours, writes UNSW Business School's Richard Holden
The cost of lockdowns is nowhere near as big as we have been told
Profound confusion about the economic cost of the coronavirus compared to the economic cost of lockdowns needs to be cleared up, writes UNSW Business School's Richard Holden
Stamp duty is an economic drag. Here's how to move to a better system
It's time to reform stamp duty – one of the most inefficient and distorting taxes collected by Australia's state and territory governments, writes Richard Holden
Why we need more stimulus to deal with the COVID-19 recession
Policy responses to the current economic crisis must be different to past responses as fiscal contraction may simply make a recession worse, writes UNSW Business School's Richard Holden
From coronavirus to recession: 6 keys to economic recovery
Australia has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rebuild the economy, but the government must reform six key areas if it is to kickstart the post-coronavirus economic recovery, according to UNSW Business School's Richard Holden
Is Scott Morrison's industrial relations peace gambit worth a shot?
Australia’s industrial relations system needs reform but it won’t happen without the key players agreeing to it themselves, writes UNSW Business School’s Richard Holden
What's the real economic cost-benefit of the COVID-19 shutdown?
The economic costs associated with the COVID-19 shutdown don't accurately factor in the real statistical value of people's lives, according to UNSW Sydney’s Richard Holden and University of Melbourne’s Bruce Preston
Time for COVID-bonds? 6 ways to help future-proof the economy
The government is providing stimulus on a scale hitherto unseen and could introduce “COVID bonds” to stimulate spending and growth, according to UNSW Business School's Richard Holden and University of Sydney's James Morley
Why the JobKeeper program requires a rethink of zero net-debt to GDP
The Federal Government’s JobKeeper program requires a bigger revolution in our national thinking about debt and deficits, writes Richard Holden
A time to borrow; a time to spend: rate cuts underline COVID-19 crisis
With the Reserve Bank cutting interest rates to record lows, the government has an opportunity to make smart investments that will pay huge dividends, writes Richard Holden
How technology is bringing people together to deal with coronavirus
The same technological forces that make the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak a global concern are also key to managing the crisis response, writes Richard Holden
Why secular stagnation haunts the Australian economy
A decade on from the GFC, it appears the economic hangover is still with us. UNSW Business School economics professor Richard Holden explains the situation to Julian Lorkin for BusinessThink.
A new focus on the network capital of movers and shakers
Can we utilise the power of connections and still facilitate competition?
Interest rate cut welcome – but what of secular stagnation?
We are caught in a low-growth, low-interest rate, low-inflation trap
A cut in interest rates could give a boost to the housing market
Australia's central bank will meet again to consider a move in interest rates, and is tipped to cut the cash rate to a record low 1.25 per cent. At least one further reduction is expected over coming months. An academic from UNSW Business School argues that a sharp cut in interest rates is needed to give a boost to the economy. However, he adds APRA’s planned cuts to lending rules may re energise the housing market more.
Climate change: a carbon tax that would leave households better off?
A carbon tax plan to aid climate change doesn't need loopholes or incentives to get handouts from the government, write UNSW Business School's Richard Holden
Is it time to drive a stake through key performance indicators?
The metrics may be of little use and specific targets give rise to manipulation
Boost the economy by improving the lives of deprived students
We are failing to address the gap in school achievement between rural, regional and remote children and their city counterparts.
How to appraise the true value of public expenditure
A new methodology measures social and commercial returns
Australian Budget 2018: Blue skies for baby-boomers
Our experts assess the government’s latest fiscal game plan
Australia's tenuous place in the new global economy
The Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) has released a report titled 'Australia's Place in the World', which considered how Australia should respond to changing attitudes to globalisation
Is an addiction to property stifling the economy?
Housing as a wealth generator drains investment from other areas
Australian Budget 2017: Is this really the blueprint for a rosy future?
Our experts look beyond the politics of the government’s latest plan
Budget 2017: Bank populism will be paid for by Australians
Treasurer Scott Morrison used to like to say Australia “doesn’t have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem”. It turns out this sentiment was true in 2016.
Vital signs: Why the government still thinks it can 'grow away' the deficit
The Treasurer, Scott Morrison, got a little unexpected positive pre-Budget news with upbeat reporting of Tuesday's Reserve Bank of Australia decision to do ... nothing.
Vital Signs: Treasurer Morrison is about to face a reality check
Can something that you think is almost surely going to happen still be big news when it does?
Brexit: In the short term OK, in the long run massive uncertainty
The better angels of Britain's nature lost. It is also a vote against the economic interest of Britain, Europe and the world.
Budget 2016: Are we heading in the right direction
Our experts drill down into the government’s latest fiscal plan
Budget timing tricks do nothing to help small business, nor the economy
I’ve always thought all businesses capable of creating jobs and wealth, regardless of their size. There’s certainly no economic theory that suggests big businesses can’t.
As treasurer, Hockey proved to be an ordinary Joe
Earlier this year, during the Prince Phillip knighthood debacle (dubbed #knightmare by Twitter), we speculated how Tony Abbott could make Malcolm Turnbull his treasurer, in place of the hapless Joe Hockey, and thereby save his prime ministership.
Alex Tsipras may be Greece's unlikely saviour
Last week, the man who led Greece to the brink of financial Armageddon, Alexis Tsipras, was returned to power in Greek elections. Is it a case of 'Here we go again'?
Abbott's first anniversary: open for business, closed to real reform
In his victory speech on election night last September, Prime Minister Tony Abbott declared Australia was “under new management and … once more open for business”.
Forget about a currency war - we'll have bigger worries off a weaker yuan
The decline in the yuan is not really very large, and the way in which it happened is not all that nefarious
Business confidence got a post-budget boost... or did it?
National Australia Bank’s business confidence index jumped from 3 to 7 points this week, a nine-month high coming on the back of this year’s federal budget. The ANZ-Roy-Morgan consumer confidence index also rose after the budget.