In the wake of this weeks RBA increase in interest rates, how difficult is it to forecast in uncertain times? Former economist at the RBA and lecturer at Monash University, Isaac Gross discusses indicators and predictions. How can it be that the number of people receiving unemployment benefits is higher than the number of unemployed? Why are some people receiving benefits exempt from looking for work? Professor Peter Whiteford from the Crawford School of Public Policy at the ANU talks through these conundrums. And what's the correlation between military spend and economic growth? It's complicated as Simon Rabinovitch, The Economist's US economics editor explains.

Interest rates; unemployment stats and global military spend

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People are drinking less alcohol, especially Millennials and Gen Z. And the drinks industry has noticed.

Low-alc and no-alc drinks make up a tiny fraction of the market. But it’s growing at 7 percent a year. And, as more of us either moderate our drinking or stop altogether, the future for these drinks look bright.

But the way they’re advertised, marketed and packaged makes them look very like alcoholic drinks and there’s some concern they may act as a gateway to alcohol.

 

Guests:

Simon Strachan, CEO, Drinkwise

Elfrun von Koeller, Managing Director & Partner, Boston Consulting Group

Andy Miller, CEO, Heaps Normal

Dr Ashlea Bartram, Senior Research Fellow, National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction, Flinders University

Low or No Alcohol: The Economics of Moderation

TikTok, the phone app that sends a stream of viral videos to every user, is in trouble in the United States. 

The company must either change its Chinese ownership, or leave the American market.

In response, TikTok is underlining its economic contribution, in Australia and elsewhere.  So how much difference does it make?

Guests:

Dr Joanne Gray, Lecturer in Digital Cultures, University of Sydney

Ariana Hendry, Co-founder, Beysis

Kristian Kolding, Head of Consulting, Oxford Economics Australia

Professor Vili Lehdonvirta, Oxford Internet Institute, Oxford University

The TikTok Economy

As they say a “diamond is forever”. But does it matter if that diamond is grown in a lab or mined from the Earth? Especially if they both are chemically, physically, and optically identical.

And given that cost of living pressures are colliding with consumers’ desire to not compromise on size or quality, more and more Australians can see the logic behind lab grown gems.  In America, lab-grown may have peaked.

Guests:

Cormac Kinney, Founder & CEO, Diamond Standard

Paul Zimnisky, Leading Global Diamond Industry Analyst

Talitha Cummins, Founder, the Cut Jewellery

Eloise Sohier, Customer, The Cut Jewellery

Diamond Disruption: Lab Grown vs Mined, which gem would you choose?

This year’s Budget tries to do several things at once. In the short term it offers cost-of-living relief but tries not to contribute to inflation. In the longer term it departs from decades of economic orthodoxy by picking industries to invest in.  Specifically, green hydrogen and critical minerals.   

But will it work? And how responsible is it? Three of the country’s leading economists offer their views.

Guests:

Shane Oliver, Chief Economist, AMP

Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW Business School

Luci Ellis, Chief Economist, Westpac Banking Group

Marking the Treasurer’s work: Three leading economists discuss the federal budget.

Australians have a sleeping problem. The most conservative estimates show one in 10 have a sleep disorder, which is having an impact on their safety, wellbeing and productivity.

This ends up costing almost a $1 billion a week. And that’s not all. The total cost of inadequate sleep is thought to be as high as $75 billion a year.

We’re not alone either. International research shows places like the US, the UK and Europe are facing similar problems, with similar costs.

Guests:

Shanthakumar Rajaratnam, Chair of the Sleep Health Foundation

Professor Ron Grunstein, The Woolcock Institute 

Wendy Troxel, The Rand Corporation

Zafina Ademi, Professor of Health Economics, Monash University

Interest rates; unemployment stats and global military spend

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