My latest Economics Explained column in the Australian Financial Review is about "Bad Networks". Turns out a party that everyone wants to leave can get started after all. Based on my paper in the JPubE with Robby Akerlof and DJ Thornton. Open access link: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

I was there. And I can't believe it either!

My latest Economics Explained column in the Australian Financial Review points out that company taxes fall mainly on households. That they hit young, low-skilled, and female workers the hardest. And that they made the income tax schedule 40% less progressive.

King Charles strips Andrew of prince title and ejects him from mansion Royal subject to ‘censures deemed necessary’ in sharp change of tone by Buckingham Palace

King Charles strips Andrew of prince title and ejects him from mansion ft.trib.al/041LNsQ

🚨 WE @unswecon.bsky.social ARE HIRING! 🚨
JMC: apply and email/DM for any question!

A short 🧵 on @unswecon.bsky.social and why you want to apply and join us in Sydney👇

econjobmarket.org/positionGrou...

Just here to say:

Pr(Engage in Violence | Very Online) \ne Pr(Very Online | Engage in Violence)

This is a bi-partisan error.

You may now return to yelling at one another.

This will be awesome. Any JHU undergrads and AEI Collegiate Network students interested in economics and politics (and football!) should check it out…

Opinion | Don’t Just Defend the Fed. Reinvent It.

Oh dear. A “foreign policy for the middle class” was a dreadful idea. “A monetary policy for the middle class” is even worse. And, btw, price stability and preventing financial crises is great for the middle class. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/14/o... via @NYTOpinion

AI start-up Anthropic settles landmark copyright suit for $1.5bn Case will compensate authors but could raise costs of training large language models

AI start-up Anthropic settles landmark copyright suit for $1.5bn on.ft.com/427Vjdm

I'm advertising for 2 full-time pre-docs at the Manos Institute for Cognitive Economics at UNSW. If you've got a strong honors degree in economics or computer science check us out at cognitiveeconomics.com. external-careers.jobs.unsw.edu.au/cw/en/job/5346…. @cognitiveeconomics.bsky.social

The GOAT Eliud Kipchoge and today’s winner of the Sydney marathon, Hailemaryam Kiros, in action on a perfect “winter” day in Centennial Park. A great race in the world’s best city.

Today’s econ seminar featured Ruben Durante presenting amazing work on the effect of GenAI on demand for news (joint with @filipecampante.bsky.social and @ananyasen.bsky.social)

How I learnt to relax about corporate debt A recent proposal from the Productivity Commission raises a question – should we fear how much companies owe in the way we worry about government deficits?

My latest Economics Explained column is about debt. That has to start with Modigliani-Miller...
"I like to think of it as the Yogi Berra theorem. The American baseball legend once quipped:'You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I’m not hungry enough to eat six.'"
www.afr.com/policy/econo...

What Chalmers should do this week to go ‘full abundance agenda’ The treasurer’s “slowly, slowly catches the monkey” stuff is not going to solve the profound productivity and standard-of-living problems Australia faces.

My latest AFR column. We need: “To rely on youth–not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease.” Are you up for that PM? www.afr.com/policy/econo...

A couple of weeks ago we launched the Manos Institute for Cognitive Economics here @UNSW. I'm proud to serve as Director. Our mission is to understand the limits of human computational capacity and the individual reasoning process. Check out what we’re doing at cognitiveeconomics.com

UK inflation accelerates to 3.8% in July BoE is seeking reassurance that recent resurgence in price growth is temporary

UK inflation accelerates to 3.8% in July on.ft.com/45ZqMAE

Cone of silence at roundtable could be good or bad thing Done right the summit will be a worthy legacy for Albanese. And it would make Chalmers a genuinely “reforming treasurer”.

My take on the opening to this week’s economic summit in AFR. www.afr.com/policy/econo...

My latest Economics Explained column in the Australian Financial Review is about government debt.

I see a lot of folks posting about that NYTimes article. So I'm just going to say something I know you all already know, but is important.

You cannot infer the effect on unemployment of majoring in one topic vs another by comparing the unemployment rates of folks who chose those majors.

I went to Harvard with Stephen Miran. He’s no dummy Stephen Miran is a more mainstream economist than some of the other names Donald Trump floated as possibilities for the US Fed in his first term.

My latest AFR column is about Stephen Miran’s appointment as a Fed governor. With a take on Stephen Moore and Herman Cain as well. www.afr.com/policy/econo...

Tip for young players. If an AI tells you to take a substance commonly used as a dog anticonvulsant then seek a second opinion.

Competition would help keep kids safe in childcare Under the government’s vision of a single-payer system, we are headed for a very expensive failure to protect our children and provide choice for families.

We can and should strengthen regulation of childcare centers. I offer 4 ideas in my latest AFR column. But ultimately it is more supply, competition, and choice for families that is necessary for high-quality, affordable childcare. www.afr.com/policy/econo...

Our CEO Carol Bennett wrote about ACMA's recent spectrum proposal in The Canberra Times this morning.

Read in full: buff.ly/KvwGLAf

@profholden.bsky.social
@canberratimes.bsky.social
#acma #spectrum #spectrumauction #spectrumlicence #auspol

🚨 Breaking from ABC News this morning: ACMA is proposing to renew valuable spectrum licences - but this decision means taxpayers may miss out on several billion dollars in licence fees.

Read the article: buff.ly/KCJ5xWY

@profholden.bsky.social
#acma #spectrum #abcnews #auspol

#Spectrum, a crucial public asset, is being renewed for telcos by the regulator #acma instead of auctioned. This could benefit major telcos, cost Australian taxpayers $2–3.2 billion, and hinder competition and innovation.

📹 buff.ly/cSPDQnS

@caroljbennett.bsky.social @profholden.bsky.social
#auspol

Once a fortnight in The Australian Financial Review my "Economics Explained" column does a deep dive on an important economic idea which isn't driven by the news cycle. Last week was on the "Marketplace for Ideas."

How efficient is the marketplace for ideas? Is significant regulation of speech required? Or can we leave it up to the “marketplace for ideas” to handle it?

My latest "Economics Explained" column in @financialreview. "So how efficient is the marketplace for ideas? And how much can we rely on competition in that market to substitute for regulation of speech? More than one might think. And less than one might like." www.afr.com/policy/econo...

Professor Richard Holden - Australia's Pandemic: Economic & Health Responses Assessed YouTube video by The Sydney Institute

Here's the video of my talk last week at the Sydney Institute about my book with @shamilton.bsky.social "Australia's Pandemic Exceptionalism: How we Crushed the Curve but Lost the Race." www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgFu...

Professor Richard Holden - Australia's Pandemic: Economic & Health Responses Assessed YouTube video by The Sydney Institute

Here's the video of my talk last week at the Sydney Institute about my book with @shamilton.bsky.social "Australia's Pandemic Exceptionalism: How we Crushed the Curve but Lost the Race." youtu.be/MgFugDI1Tkg?...

It was a great pleasure to chat about how, sometimes, businesses behave badly and what we can do about it with @joshbornstein.bsky.social and @adeleferguson.bsky.social at the #sydneywritersfestival. Such an honor to be in conversation with two wonderful and incisive story tellers.