Budget explainer: has there been a blowout in social security and welfare spending?

It is difficult to reach the conclusion that the share of the population receiving social security payments has been increasing significantly, or that spending has been growing at an unsustainable rate relative to the size of the economy. Peter Whiteford (Australian National University) explains.

The need for new housing solutions for low-income groups is clearly a pressing requirement

Growth in the national housing stock has kept pace with population growth for almost a decade. However, the picture differs across state and territory capitals. Official figures (June 2015) reveal there were 154,000 households on state housing authority waiting lists for public housing, but it is likely that the length of these waiting lists underestimates the need for public housing. The need for new housing solutions for low-income groups is clearly a pressing requirement. Gavin Wood (RMIT University) and Rachel Ong (Curtin University) explain.

Mortgage stress isn’t as bad as we are told

The debate about housing affordability has recently drifted into the issue of systemic financial system risk. However, the risk of people not being able to repay their home loans appears small and 

there is no clear case that the household sector has borrowed excessively. 

A lot of the confusion about housing arises because people make inappropriate comparisons. One common mistake is to compare the amount of housing debt with national income - this is highly misleading. Rodney Maddock (

Monash University) explains

.

Australian politics explainer: the writing of our Constitution

Ryan Goss (Australian National University) explains the development of Australia's Constitution, its impact at the time, and its relevance to politics today.

The Cashless Debit Card causes social and economic harm – so why trial it again?

The economic and social effects of the the Cashless Credit Card Trials are described by Elise Klein (University of Melbourne). 

Houses aren’t more unaffordable for first home buyers, but they are riskier

Comparisons of housing affordability typically compare the ratio of house prices to incomes - ignoring interest rates, which have a greater impact on changes in affordability. Jamie Alcock (University of Sydney) explains.

Business investment is weak, but an unfunded company tax cut won’t fix it

The overwhelming reason why companies undertake investment is to exploit market opportunities for the goods and services that the investment supports. Cutting the rate of company tax can lead to a marginal increase in the after-tax rate of return of an investment - but only if the project is profitable in the first place, and that depends on demand and broader economic growth. 

Because of dividend imputation in Australia, the role of company tax in influencing investment decision is even more marginal than in other countries - it is mostly only foreign shareholders that would benefit from a cut in Australia's company tax rate.

Jim Minifie (Grattan Institute) explains the importance of economic growth for investment decisions.