When catastrophe strikes, sometimes you just have to laugh. This event with the fabulous Rebecca Huntley and Kate McClymont looks just the ticket... http://giantdwarf.com.au/events/the-full-catastrophe/

I cop a lot of blowback for my articles in support of a "Big Australia". But it's a happy circumstance where my economics aligns with my morals.

"To live in the most sparsely populated continent on earth and declare ourselves full is mean-spirited, defeatist behaviour of the highest order. If people want to come here, unless we have a good reason for stopping them, we shouldn't."

Enough already, let's all move to Iceland... Fascinating article for SMH today by Jane Searle who interviewed Icelandic women about living in the most female-friendly country in the world.

"It's amazing they still don't have maternity leave in places like the U.S. or that women stay at home" Dagny adds. "To go through all that education to stay at home, doesn't make sense."

A little late, but Happy Halloween everyone... Scary!

If we really want gender equality, we need to see women regularly handing down budgets, setting interest rates and chatting about the economy on TV. So if you have a uterus and an economics degree, please get onto this new facebook group for female economists working in Australia. I'm sick of talking to blokes (see today's SMH/Age column: http://www.smh.com.au/…/where-are-all-the-female-economists…)

More money, worse results? The truth behind the great schools debate. My Friday column...

How do Aussie households get away with having the biggest household debt in the world? Well, that's a very good question, I'm glad you asked...

Can you believe there are still 22 boardrooms in ASX200 companies with no women around the table? I found Flight Centre's excuse that they were only "temporarily womanless" quite possibly true, but also quite hilarious...

Gee I had a fun day today...RBA speech for breakfast and AOFM speech for lunch. First the RBA says we're doing fine, then the government's debt manager says it would make "very little or no" difference if we lost our AAA credit rating. Relax everyone! Good thing our public servants are doing such a fine job minding the economy, given all the sensible politicians (oxymoron?) seem to have all exited the field.

It might be time to ask for that payrise...Reserve Bank assistant governor (economic) Christopher Kent delivers an upbeat assessment of Australia's post mining boom economy...

Zombies have invaded China!

haha, at least, the Chinese translation of my first book "Zombies, bananas and why there are no economists in heaven: The economics of everyday life" is out.

Essential reading for any CCP cadre looking to court influence in Australian society...

Ask yourself this: do you actually know what's in the government's $6 billion omnibus savings bill introduced to parliament last week? Labor is still deciding whether to support it. I'd be astounded if they do, given all the nasties it contains for some of society's least well off... Here's my quick summary of the 24 measures...

Public sevice alert: Three women are about to run the world! (And you can throw in Christine Lagarde for a fourth).
Today's column attempts to look at gender equity from a different point of view. Instead of focusing on women's perceived failings (we're not competitive enough, not confident enough), let's focus on the boys, who, studies, show, are over confident in their abilities - often to the deteriment of company performance. http://www.smh.com.au/…/she-didnt-ask-for-it-is-this-why-wo…