Yesterday
- Opinion
- Opinion
Fear and crisis fatigue are holding back productivity
Our uncertain world is generating collective caution. This leaves economies experiencing too little change and bearing too little risk.
- Andy Haldane
This Month
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Why Andrew Forrest is a big budget winner
Jim Chalmers’ $23 billion bet on turning Australia into a green industry superpower ignores many of the issues on the top of the business sector’s wishlist.
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- Australian economy
The one standout success metric for the budget
More investment is required to drive productivity. We won’t get this without cutting red tape and making the things more business-friendly.
- Bran Black
April
This CEO didn’t go to uni and never had a career plan
Australia Post chief Paul Graham left school and tried out myriad manual jobs. Now he is responsible for 63,000 employees.
- Sally Patten and Lap Phan
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Chalmers’ narrow budget path is now in peril
The sudden change in the interest rate outlook this week could be political dynamite for the Albanese government and the budget.
- The AFR View
How to beat the busyness curse
If you’re filling every waking hour with something to do, you may be overcompensating for not wanting to be idle – but there is a middle path.
- Arthur Brooks
Why 3pc wage rises may become the new norm
New research from NAB forecasts productivity growth will remain at its lowest rate in more than 70 years, leading living standards to stagnate.
- Michael Read
The right shortcuts can give your iPhone superpowers. Here’s how
A free app preinstalled on Apple handsets since 2019 is easy to overlook, since its name doesn’t tell you much, but it could make your life far easier.
- Chris Velazco
- Opinion
- The AFR View
History shows Australia needs a strong Productivity Commission
The Financial Review helped forge the political and intellectual opposition to the nation’s 20th-century industry protectionism, which was once a bipartisan article of Australian faith, akin to the fair go.
- The AFR View
Forced supermarket break-ups ‘a dopey idea’
Former Productivity Commission chairman Peter Harris questions legality of such an arrangement, citing the clause in the Constitution that saved The Castle’s Darryl Kerrigan.
- Ronald Mizen
- Analysis
- Competition
Five practical ways to turbocharge competition
Former productivity commission chairman Peter Harris suggests that supermarkets, banks and qualifications are some of the areas to focus on.
- Ronald Mizen
- Exclusive
- Australian economy
First productivity chief calls for Labor U-turn on policy agenda
Inaugural Productivity Commission chairman Gary Banks and his successor Peter Harris are each separately calling for a “pro-productivity” and a “pro-competition” agenda.
- Ronald Mizen
- Exclusive
- Construction
Construction’s long hours put next generation of workers off
A new industry survey shows working conditions in an industry already struggling to attract women are also putting off the next generation of men.
- Michael Bleby
Greg lets his staff work from home every day – but there’s a catch
Sydney boss Greg Weiss says competent employees can be trusted to work remotely full-time if accountability measures are put in place.
- Gus McCubbing
AI could ‘break the productivity cycle’ for construction
Engineering firm Aurecon says the developing use of artificial intelligence could supercharge efficiency on big projects.
- Michael Bleby
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Competition case for merger shake-up is unconvincing
Giving the ACCC bureaucrats more power might just add more red tape costs for little return. It would be more productive to focus on the obvious competition black spots.
- The AFR View
Want to finish more books? Five super readers share their tips
Some read up to 365 tomes a year, but others say it’s not all about quantity over quality.
- Sophia Nguyen
It’s a long and winding path that leads to a rate cut
The reality is there is still some way to go as the RBA balances the challenge of reducing inflation while keeping the economy ticking.
- Stephen Miller
March
Small productivity rebound is nothing to celebrate
The productivity slump may have bottomed out, but it has happened because workers’ hours are being cut, not because businesses are investing, a leading economist warns.
- Ronald Mizen
Slowing tech investment complicates Chalmers’ growth goal
The contribution of IT equipment to capital input has fallen sharply in recent decades, which economists warn could undermine long-term economic growth.
- Updated
- Ronald Mizen