. In Australia, interest rates have risen sharply, consumer demand has turned negative, housing activity has slowed and the overall economy is running below trend. But like elsewhere in the world, job markets are tight – so tight that the unemployment rate has barely increased from near 50-year lows.
First, there’s some evidence that the pandemic, having highlighted the frailty of our human existence, may have negatively affected the amount of work people want to do. Economists call this the work/leisure ratio. Here, people choose to spend relatively more time in “leisure” and less time working, and may even quit altogether, despite this leading to a more frugal retirement.
Finally, some analysts are speculating that “workplace policy” isn’t helping. Gary Banks, founding chairman of the Productivity Commission, recently opined that “workplace regulation has been regressing towards the sort of centralised, prescriptive regime that preceded the Hawke/Keating reforms”, limiting the ability of companies to become more productive.
Looking backwards, if the past 30 years of deregulation has shown us anything, it is that competition delivers better, more agile and more efficient companies that produce superior customer outcomes, create customer retention and superior shareholder returns.) are not typically associated with such outcomes.
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Source: FinancialReview - 🏆 2. / 90 Read more »