Bruce Preston

Should We Worry about Government Debt? Thoughts on Australia's COVID-19 Response

C Edmond, R Holden, B Preston

Journal article  |  2020  |  Australian Economic Review

No. While the COVID-19 crisis has required a dramatic increase in debt-financed government spending, in the current conditions the..

Keating is right. The Reserve Bank should do more. It needs to aim for more inflation

Christian Edmond, Bruce Preston

Scholarly Contribution to Database/Website  |  2020

Former prime minister Paul Keating isn’t alone in wanting the Reserve Bank to do much more to ensure economic recovery. In an opi..

Should governments obsess about debt? Yes, say traditionalists. No, says the theory

Chris Edmond, Richard Holden, Bruce Preston

Scholarly Contribution to Database/Website  |  2020

With the world staring down possibly the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, do leaders need to rethink debt and st..

Australia must reject austerity and embrace targeted spending to beat this recession

Christian Edmond, Richard Holden, Bruce Preston

Scholarly Contribution to Database/Website  |  2020

Scott Morrison set aside his economic instincts during the pandemic. He must do it again.

Let’s get fiscal: we need a new road to recovery from this recession

Bruce Preston

Scholarly Contribution to Database/Website  |  2020

A balanced budget does not ensure an economic recovery. Embracing austerity failed after the GFC and it will fail now.

Is the government putting the wrong dollar-value on the cost of human life?

Richard Holden, Bruce Preston

Scholarly Contribution to Database/Website  |  2020

Putting a dollar value on life is difficult and uncomfortable, but the government's methods are flawed — and the consequences are ..

Economic snap-back? Not so fast

Steven Hamilton, Bruce Preston, Christian Edmond

Scholarly Contribution to Database/Website  |  2020

With the virus on the back foot, it’s tempting to declare victory. Provided we stay vigilant on the public health front, we do hav..

Hindsight is 20/20: how false narratives could hurt us going forward

Richard Holden, Bruce Preston

Scholarly Contribution to Database/Website  |  2020

Australia has been relatively successful in the fight against COVID-19. What comes next is the fight for the narrative.

Was Australia right to shut down to slow coronavirus? The economists' verdict

Richard Holden, Bruce Preston

Scholarly Contribution to Database/Website  |  2020

Debate now turns to how quickly to relax Covid-19 restrictions, and whether lockdowns made sense in the first place.

The costs of the shutdown are overestimated – they’re outweighed by its $1 trillion benefit

Richard Holden, Bruce Preston

Scholarly Contribution to Database/Website  |  2020

As Australia begins to relax its COVID-19 restrictions there is understandable debate about how quickly that should proceed, and w..