For our November poll, panelists were asked the following:  "In general, using more congestion charges in crowded transportation networks — such as higher tolls during peak travel times in cities, and peak fees for airplane takeoff and landing slots — and using the proceeds to lower other taxes would make citizens on average better off."

For our October Poll we asked the panel to comment on two propositions relating to the Banking Royal Commission and the Credit Crunch.

For our August poll, we asked panellists to consider the following proposition: "There are clear net benefits for Australians from (further) increasing the diversion of waste from Australian landfills."

The World Health Organisation has called for governments around the world to use fiscal policy as a mechanism to address obesity. The National Economic Panellists’ views were sought on such a policy response.

Electric car users currently enjoy a number of subsidies (concessions) from governments in Australia. Electric car users do not pay the 40 cent per litre fuel tax (excise) which goes towards funding Australian roads.

For our May poll, we asked our panellists for their opinions on this proposition: "A sustained increase in the number of new homes constructed each year, all else equal, will make housing cheaper than otherwise."  By way of background, several Australian government, academic and private-sector studies have pointed to slow housing supply as an important driver in Australia’s high and rising housing prices.

For our April poll we asked a budget related question of our panellists: Proposition 1: Slowing the growth in the debt to GDP ratio should be a priority for Australian governments. Proposition 2: Slowing the growth in the debt to GDP ratio is a higher priority than income or corporate tax cuts.

This month we asked our National Economic Panel (NEP) for their views on the following proposition. It goes to a potential core election issue as to whether Australia should follow President Trump's suit and reduce its company tax rate if it is to continue to attract investment from abroad and at home.

The spectacular growth of the 'sharing economy' and 'gig economy' (enabled by platforms such as Uber, Deliveroo, AirBnB, AirTasker, TaskRabbit, Freelancer and others) is transforming the nature of work and working relationships - creating both new opportunities and risks for the welfare of Australian workers.

2017 was the year that brought us a new startling reality – one in which 'alternative facts' consistently overwhelmed (or trumped?) well-considered, rigorous and evidence-based public discourse. We wanted to kick 2018 off by exploring this 'fake news' phenomenon with the the Economic Society of Australia's National Economic Panel (NEP). So for our 25th poll, we asked the NEP for their views on the following propositions

Assuming that the law will be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry in Australia, this will generate net economic benefits for the nation as a whole over the next 10 years.  Read Media Coverage on this Poll : Sydney Morning Herald and The Age

Question A: "Holding labor market institutions and job training fixed, rising use of robots and artificial intelligence is likely to increase substantially the number of workers in Australia who are unemployed for long periods."

Question B: "Rising use of robots and artificial intelligence in Australia is likely to create benefits large enough that they could be used to compensate those workers who are substantially negatively affected for their lost wages."

"As interest rates are at low levels by historical standards, federal and state governments, despite their public debt levels, should be borrowing more than they currently are to invest in infrastructure".

Our latest NEP poll gathers expert opinions on the proposed Clean Energy Target scheme recommended by The Finkel Review as a key part of the blue-print for reform of the electricity industry.  

Our latest NEP poll concerns the controversial topic of how we want our human services delivered - by government or by the private sector?  

Our latest NEP poll is our first on gender diversity. It was developed in collaboration with the ESA Women in Economics Network. The NEP were asked for their opinions on this proposition....

 "Given the Commonwealth Treasury’s ongoing difficulty in making accurate forecasts of some of the key economic variables underpinning the Budget – in particular nominal GDP growth – the Government should ‘outsource’ the economic forecasts used in framing the Budget to an independent agency (such as the Parliamentary Budget Office), as now happens in the United Kingdom.”  

This month, we asked our panellists to comment on the following: "In response to energy shortages around Australia, government policies requiring gas producers to reserve some production for domestic consumption are a good way to ensure that Australian consumers have access to sufficient gas supplies while still allowing for gas exports."

Our Panel were recently asked for their opinions on the following proposition: "Capital gains tax deductions for housing investment should be removed because they over-stimulate the housing market, contributing to rising house prices."

Our first poll of the ESA National Economic Panel for 2017 tries to shed some light on a perennial debate amongst economics educators.

The final poll for 2016 is on the subject of gambling.  We asked our panellists to comment on the following proposition: "The social costs of gambling exceed the benefits (including consumer surplus from recreational gambling and tax revenue for governments)"

These extraordinary times called for an extraordinarily agile poll of the ESA National Economic Panel. We sought the Panel's opinion on this proposition: "Hillary Clinton is likely to be the superior US presidential candidate for the Australian economy and for Australia."

This month the Panellists were asked 'The total benefit of current levels of migration to Australia will outweigh the total costs to Australia's economy.'

Question Part 1: 'Behavioural economics provides new and useful insights into individual behaviour.'

Question Part 2: 'It is unethical for governments to use behavioural economics to "nudge" citizens.'

Panellists were asked: The Reserve Bank of Australia should be tasked with targeting nominal economic growth rather than inflation.