Category: Uncategorized

Miser’s beware –The coming of a cashless society –   The first known civilization to use currency was the Mesopotamian civilization, nearly 5,000 years ago. The Mesopotamian shekel is considered the earliest form of currency. The first mints appeared around 650 to 600 B.C. in Asia Minor, where the elites of Lydia and Ionia used stamped silver and gold coins to pay their armies. This innovation marked a significant development in the history of trade and economics, facilitating transactions and standardizing the measure of value

Is AI the unbiased tool that will solve problems of subjective sport officiating?   Katherine A O’Brien   Senior Lecturer – Queensland University of Technology (Brisbane/Australia)   Artificially Intelligent (AI) tools are often touted for their ability to automate repetitive and mundane tasks, freeing up human workers to focus on more complex and creative endeavours. For example, Forbes Magazine contributor Jia Rizvi (https://www.forbes.com/sites/jiawertz/2024/01/16/4-ways-artificial-intelligence-is-making-companies-more-efficient/?sh=520f3a99545a) suggests that AI can improve efficiency and productivity in various industries by handling routine tasks more quickly

The Australian housing market is experiencing excess demand. Part of this demand pressure comes from Commonwealth and State Government attempts to assist first home buyers through well-meaning but ill- advised grants that do nothing but add to the current housing price inflation. (Australian governments have spent $20b on assistance for first home buyers, but who has really benefited?)    It is generally regarded that the prime cause of the current housing market problems is lack of supply of suitable land but

Why does  a practice that has little or no energy saving or economic benefit , but which has clear health risks and was championed by authoritarian Governments  in World War 2 continue to have widespread support in Western Countries?  Figure1 – Early pro-DST cartoon in the USA showing the misconception that DST is pro-farmer October each year heralds the start of summer in Australia. It is the end of the NRL and AFL seasons in Australia and occurs with such

1.1 The decision to retire for sports persons The decision to retire is a personal one (albeit this is sometimes influenced by the actions and attitudes of selectors) and while no one age can be identified as the “correct age” to retire, there are clearly implications on performance of ageing. Moreover, the decision to play on is not without dangers. The older player is often subject to greater scrutiny by the press and the selectors. They are often given less

“A policy that targets the young and the poor to solve an economy wide problem is neither equitable nor long-term efficient“  John Mangan  Introduction The Reserve bank of Australia  has a target range for consumer price inflation of between 2-3%. This target level is shared by many central banks including the US Federal Reserve , to achieve these inflation targets Central banks primarily  use monetary policy, particularly interest rate policy.  This creates two connected macro- economic issues. What is the optimum inflation rate

Introduction Australia has four major football codes, Australian Rules Football (AFL) Rugby League, Association Football (Soccer) and Rugby Union. Support for these codes varies by geographical area, demographics history and social class. A recent survey of sports popularity in Australia ranked AFL as the most popular sport in Australia (1) followed by Rugby League (2), Soccer (8) and Rugby Union (10). These rankings are based on a combination of the number of players, crowd attendance and media ratings. Yet those watching the recent

Covid and the Labour market The Covid pandemic is now in its third year. It disrupted the Australian labour market in ways normally associated with major economic downturns By April 2020 Labour market indicators had dropped to their lowest levels since the GFC  Since then they have recovered and by June 2022, the all persons unemployment rate stood at 3.5% and participation rates were at 66,3%. On face value the system has fully recovered, and Covid-19 was just a temporary blip on

I became an Emeritus Professor in the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Queensland in 2021. Prior to that I was Professor of Economics and Director of the Australian Institute for Business and Economics at the University of Queensland (John Mangan’s profile) I have been lucky enough to have held visiting positions at the Universities of Kiel, Lancaster, Ulster, and the National University of Ireland and was a visiting fellow at Queensland Treasury and an Eminent