Month: January 2010

Education and living alone

~ Andrew Norton ~ 1 Comment

The Age this morning reports on research by David de Vaus and Sue Richardson on living alone. Though the economic incentives are to share – especially as governments bias more policies against singles – living alone is becoming more common. The proportion of people living alone increased from 11.9% in 1996 to 13% in 2006.

As de Vaus and Richardson note, educational disparities between men and women are part of the explanation. The tables in the paper make it a little hard to see what’s going on, as they report different groups as a % of the living alone. It is clearer when we look at the numbers of people in the different groups. Continue reading “Education and living alone” →

Stand-up economics

~ Andrew Norton ~ 3 Comments

Yoram Bauman is an economics stand-up comedian:

My dad said, ‘Yoram, you’ll never make it as a stand-up economist. There’s no demand.’

“I said, ‘Don’t worry, Dad; I’m a supply-side economist. I just stand up and let the jokes trickle down.'”

“Auwgkh!” the audience moans.

“I believe in the Laffer curve.”

Bada-bing?

Auwgkh indeed.

Recessions not good for happiness (but not that bad either)

~ Andrew Norton ~ 8 Comments

Anti-prosperity thinkers have long pointed to flat levels of happiness as proof that more income doesn’t make us happier. The more adventurous, such as Clive Hamilton, use this as part of their argument for cutting economic growth. Last year I reported Barry Schwartz’s argument that the US recession may have a positive effect on happiness as people realise that they don’t need the latest in consumer goods.

I take the view that while voluntary downshifting can be good for happiness, recessions are bad for subjective well-being (though because believing that your standard of living is going to improve in future is generally good for happiness, happiness is likely to recover more quickly than the economy).

Some US evidence on the happiness effects of their recession is starting to be published. Since 1972 the General Social Survey has asked its respondents ‘taken all together, how would you say things are these days would you say that you are very happy, pretty happy, or not too happy?. In 2008 13.9% of Americans said they were ‘not too happy’, the second highest number ever recorded (the worst was 17.2% in 1972). ‘Very happy’ was on 31.7%, the worst result since 1994 and equal fourth worst. Continue reading “Recessions not good for happiness (but not that bad either)” →

Higher education policy 1979

~ Andrew Norton ~ 1 Comment

As reported in the SMH, the National Archives today released two 1979 Cabinet papers on higher education.

One Cabinet submission was a proposal to re-introduce university fees, perhaps at about $1,000 a year. The arguments in favour were ‘equity’, noting the generally regressive nature of higher education subsidy; some microeconomic benefit in encouraging students to think more carefully about whether they should pursue higher education, and if so in which discipline; and budgetary savings.

The arguments against were essentially political – a 1977 election promise not to reintroduce fees, public criticism, and complications in Commonwealth-State relations (at the time, universities were funded via tied grants to the states, rather than directly). These arguments won.

This result seems to capture the long-term culture of higher education policy on the Coalition side – some broadly sound but half-hearted and quarter-way policy suggestions, trumped by political nervousness. There has never been a critical mass of Coalition MPs who care enough and know enough about the issue to take some political risks to achieve something really worthwhile. Continue reading “Higher education policy 1979” →