Unconventional Economist

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also Chief Economist and co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.

Weekend reading and MB media releases

International Reading: Student-loan borrowers are at high risk if Trump dismantles the Department of Education, 11 organizations told Elizabeth Warren – Business Insider Texas ranks as No.

Aussies are expecting big house price gains

In June, Australian property values reached a record high, as illustrated by PropTrack below.

Why we cannot build enough homes

Australia is experiencing a generational housing shortage, exacerbated by historically high immigration-driven population growth and a sluggish housing supply.

New Zealand scrapes bottom of immigration barrel

Net overseas migration into New Zealand has collapsed to a 2½-year low and is tracking around half the historical average.

Australia should withdraw from its FTA with the USA

Victorians are suffering from acute Stockholm Syndrome

Victorians are suffering an acute case of Stockholm Syndrome regarding the state Labor government.

Aussies brace for new wage shock

Australians have experienced a record 6.1% decline in their real wages. Worse, the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) own forecasts suggest that real wages will only recover to December 2011 levels by mid-2026, by which time they will still be tracking 5.7% below their mid-2020 peak.

New Zealand’s ‘once in a generation’ house price crash

During the Covid-19 pandemic, New Zealand experienced one of the world’s largest house price booms, which pushed median home values to a record 11.2 times median household incomes, according to Demographia.

NDIS job boom delivers productivity bust

A recent report from CBA economist Harry Ottley illustrated the unprecedented rise in non-market sector jobs over the past decade.

Australia’s intractable housing shortage

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