NEP Polls
Top economists want JobSeeker boosted by $100+ per week and tied to wages
Poll 44
"Ahead of a decision about any permanent increase expected early next year, The Conversation and the Economic Society of Australia asked 45 of Australia’s leading economists where they thought JobSeeker should settle."
October Budget 2020 - preferred four programs
Poll 42
"The October budget will see the government announce additional policies to support recovery. Please nominate the four programs you think would be the most effective (for an intervention of a given size) over the next two years"
Photo Credit: Wes Mountain/The Conversation, CC BY-ND
Responses (49)
The legislated increases in compulsory super contributions should...
Poll 41
"The legislated increases in compulsory super contributions, which are set to climb from 9.5% of wages to 12% over the next five years should...."
Photo Credit: Wes Mountain/The Conversation, CC BY-ND
Responses (44)
Government Debt during the COVID19 Crisis
Poll 40
"Governments should provide ongoing fiscal support to boost aggregate demand during the economic crisis and recovery, even if it means a substantial increase in public debt"
Photo Credit: Wes Mountain/The Conversation, CC BY-ND
Responses (50)
Wage freeze for economic recovery
Poll 39
"A freeze in the minimum wage will support Australia's economic recovery"
Photo credit: Wes Mountain/The Conversation, CC BY-ND
Responses (41)
Social Distancing Measures, May 2020
Poll 38
"The benefits to Australian society of maintaining social distancing measures sufficient to keep R<1 for COVID-19 are likely to exceed the costs"
Responses (47)
Motherhood, caring and the careers of Australian women - April 2019
Poll 37
Proposition 1: "Without changes to existing public policy or private sector practice in Australia, motherhood will always negatively affect a woman's career."
Proposition 2: "In Australia, fathers are more restricted than mothers in fulfilling a caring role while in employment."
Responses (34)
Sugar sweetened beverage tax for Australia - July 2018
Poll 31
Proposition 1: "The best economic policy instrument available to policy makers seeking to address obesity and related health issues in Australia is the introduction of a tax on sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs)."
Proposition 2: "The health and non-health benefits from a tax on SSBs are likely to outweigh the possible costs felt elsewhere in the economy."
Responses (21)
Professional Accreditation of Economists - March 2019
Poll 36
Proposition 1: "Professional accreditation for the economics profession would attract more people to economics as a career."
Proposition 2: "The benefits of professional accreditation for current and prospective economists would exceed any possible costs"
Responses (38)
Congestion pricing - November 2018
Poll 34
"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."
Responses (27)
US corporate tax cuts - March 2018
Poll 27
"The recent US corporate tax cuts will have no impact on investments in and capital flows into Australia."
Responses (30)
Australian Federal Budget 2018 - Reduce government debt or provide tax cuts? - April 2018
Poll 28
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."
Responses (29)
Will building more homes make housing cheaper? - May 2018
Poll 29
"A sustained increase in the number of new homes constructed each year, all else equal, will make housing cheaper than otherwise."
Responses (126)
Electric vehicles and road-use pricing - June 2018
Poll 30
"Pricing of road-use for electric vehicles should be the same as fossil fuel-powered vehicles."
Responses (25)
Royal Banking Commission (II) - February 2019
Poll 35
"There is no way to significantly increase the degree to which Australian retail banks act in the interests of consumers."
Responses (20)
Waste Policy - August 2018
Poll 32
"There are clear net benefits for Australians from (further) increasing the diversion of waste from Australian landfills."
Responses (16)
Banking Royal Commission and the Credit Crunch - October 2018
Poll 33
Proposition 1: "There is a significant risk that, either as a result of the findings and recommendations of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry or as a result of the financial institutions' response to those findings, credit will become less readily available to Australian households or businesses."
Proposition 2: "Assuming credit becomes less readily available to Australian households or businesses, this will in turn have adverse consequences for the performance of the Australian economy."
Responses (24)
Gig economy and worker welfare - February 2018
Poll 26
"The wages and conditions of Australian workers providing services in sectors affected by the rapid growth of digital on-demand subcontracting platforms will, on average, be expected to fall without further government intervention."
Responses (31)
Journalism as a public good - January 2018
Poll 25
Proposition 1: "The modern phenomena of information overload and social-media-fuelled 'fake news' bring into focus the value of quality journalism. Quality journalism has a public-good dimension that warrants public support."
Proposition 2: "The Australian government presently provides funding for the ABC and SBS, Australia's independent public broadcasters. The Australian government should increase its financial support of quality journalism."
Responses (36)
Same sex marriage - November 2017
Poll 24
"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."
Responses (30)
Robots, artificial intelligence and the 'future of work' - October 2017
Poll 23
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."
Responses (33)
Public borrowing for infrastructure investment - September 2017
Poll 22
"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"
Responses (32)
The Finkel Review - August 2017
Poll 21
"The Finkel Review has recommended a mandatory certificate scheme that obliges electricity retailers to purchase a certain proportion of the electricity they sell from sources of electricity whose emission intensity is below a defined level. This is preferable to conventional approaches to the pricing of externalities, such as an emission tax or cap and trade scheme."
Responses (26)
Does privatisation of human services hurt outcomes? - July 2017
Poll 20
"For-profit provision of human services like health and education leads to poor client outcomes and high costs to government."
Responses (30)
CGT deductions - March 2017
Poll 16
"Capital gains tax deductions for housing investment should be removed because they overstimulate the housing market, contributing to rising house prices."
Responses (27)