States will ultimately pay for unsustainable federal fiscal promises

Richard Eccleston (University of Tasmania) and Neil Warren (University of NSW) explain that a large part of the federal budget repair will fall on the states, regardless of which party wins on July 2.

For the English, Brexit will mean economic and political pain

Stephen King (Monash University) explains that the EU leaders have a strong incentive to make the UK's ‘exit conditions’ as onerous and costly as possible – so as to deter other nations from also exiting the EU. Incentives for Scotland and Northern Ireland to stay with the EU will figure prominently and the remaining England and Wales are likely to face the highest level of default restrictions on trade with the EU (including with Scotland and Northern Ireland). Great Britain is likely to disintegrate rapidly over the next two years and the standard of living will decline, particularly in the midlands and northern parts of England.

Brexit: act in haste…

Mark Beeson (University of Western Australia) reflects on Brexit and argues that none of the defining problems of the 20th century can be tackled without more co-operation rather than less. The problems are difficult – some possibly irresolvable – but without mechanisms with which to tackle them, solutions are not even theoretically viable. A retreat into insularity, parochialism and nostalgia for the 19th century are plainly not the answers.

Childcare policies compared

Ben Phillips (Australian National University), writing in The Conversation, compares Labor's childcare policy with that of the Coalition. Each party seems locked into a vicious cycle of increasing subsidies only to see prices increase more and parents worse off except in the short term.