While recent NDIS reforms are important steps towards fiscal sustainability, future pressures will hinge on managing rising costs per participant| e61 INSTITUTE
Should government’s lock in a fixed number of work from home days?| e61 INSTITUTE
Can Australia pay off its debt without hurting future generations? | e61 INSTITUTE
Labour market dynamism needs to be a key focus of the Economic Reform Roundtable.| e61 INSTITUTE
A weaker fiscal position limits Australia’s ability to pool risk across the community and through time.| e61 INSTITUTE
The upcoming Economic Reform Roundtable offers policymakers a unique opportunity to take stock and wholistically consider the significant economic issues facing Australia.| e61 INSTITUTE
Last week, the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee’s annual report to government recommended a substantial increase in JobSeeker and related payments. It included research pointing to benefits to productivity and mental and physical health from an increase. But it would have a fiscal cost requiring lower spending elsewhere, higher taxes or rising debt. | e61 INSTITUTE
Most NDIS services are charged at, or just below, the price cap, but variation across services reveals where these caps are most binding and where market forces are shaping prices instead| e61 INSTITUTE
There is one key area where teaching stands out in terms of its workforce challenges compared to other fields and occupations: school teaching degree enrolments.| e61 INSTITUTE
Authors: Greg Kaplan, Matthew Maltman, and Matt Nolan| e61 INSTITUTE
When the re-elected Albanese Government returns to parliament, its first stated legislative priority is to cut 20% of outstanding student HELP debt. The proposal echoes U.S. policy under the Biden Administration and comes after a decade during which both the number of young people with a HELP debt and the real value of that debt have grown.| e61 INSTITUTE
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The e61 Workforce Disincentive Calculator is a tool to help people investigate how the tax and transfer system influences the financial incentive for an individual to work, or work more. The calculator currently is in Alpha and has a narrow focus – prime-working age individuals who have stable earnings over the year. Further development feedback would be appreciated.| e61 INSTITUTE
One of the Albanese government’s headline-grabbing commitments in the recent election campaign was a promised 20 per cent reduction of the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) or student loan debt. The Prime Minister has said this measure will be the first piece of legislation the government introduces in the next Parliament when it returns from 22 July. | e61 INSTITUTE
For much of Australia’s history, each new generation has been better off than the last: better jobs, higher incomes, and improved living standards. But could this intergenerational compact – the promise that young Australians will be better off than their parents and grandparents – now be in doubt?| e61 INSTITUTE
The rapidly growing ‘care economy’ now employs 15% of working Australians, up from 10% in the early 2010s. This has expanded critical services to many Australians. It has also required trade-offs elsewhere in the economy. In particular:| e61 INSTITUTE
The so-called Silver Tsunami – the rapid growth of Australia’s older population – has arrived. Policymakers have raised concerns that this demographic shift could adversely affect the labour market by lowering labour force participation. This concern is based on two assumptions: | e61 INSTITUTE
Two weeks ago, the Coalition announced a major election policy: a temporary 25.4 cent-per-litre cut to the fuel excise. The proposal taps into a key battleground of this election – the cost of living. But it also raises important questions. How much of the tax cut will be passed on to consumers? Will all households benefit equally? And, if introduced, how easy will it be for the government of the day to avoid extending the policy after 12 months?| e61 INSTITUTE
The Treasurer’s 2023 Intergenerational Report warned that population ageing will drive an ever-increasing government spending-to-GDP ratio without policy action. The Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Outlook forecast a Budget deficit of over $42 billion in 2025-26. Taken together, these point to a nation clearly facing fiscal pressures. Perhaps, most strikingly, these projections do not account for the decline in political support for immigration and fertility rates that are already below fo...| e61 INSTITUTE