John Quiggin
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johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin
@johnquiggin.bsky.social
4.5K followers 140 following 4.8K posts

Economist & blogger @ http://johnquiggin.com, http://crookedtimber.org. http://johnquiggin.substack.com/?utm http://mstdn.social/@johnquiggin
I repost my content, using the #repost hashtag. You can go to settings/filters to avoid seeing the same post. .. more

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John Quiggin is an Australian economist, a professor at the University of Queensland. He was formerly an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow and Federation Fellow and a member of the board of the Climate Change Authority of the Australian Government. .. more

Economics 65%
Business 9%
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johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 10h
Apparently Epstein-Trump lawyer/unindicted co-conspirator Alan Dershowitz is preparing the case for a third term. I'm happy to say I was ahead of the game in cancelling him. He is a great Exhibit for the case that cancel culture got most things right.
crookedtimber.org/20...

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 11h
Jaon Gillespie says "I haven’t seen anything in the media that’s been said or written by anyone that’s referenced Usman [Khawaja] being lazy". Apparently, he doesn't have access to a search engine

www.theroar.com.au/2...

www.smh.com.au/sport...
Ode to Uzzie: 'Lazy' Khawaja never hit heights of Langer or Hayden - but his legacy is sealed
When Usman Khawaja made three figures against a Sri Lanka side featuring three spin bowlers, I thought back to when we were told he…
www.theroar.com.au

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 23h
SAT scores are given to High School graduates aren't they? Why is kindergarten attendance not being reported.

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 2d
Only a few statistically meaningless percentage points separating the great bulk of those people asked about.

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 2d


In this context, the claim that famously divisive Tim Wilson is tha most likeable Liberal in Parliament should be treated with the scepticism it deserves.
Pauline Hanson, Barnaby Joyce zoom up the politicians’ likeability ladder
After years being among the least-liked MPs in the federal parliament, Pauline Hanson enters 2026 in an unusual position – liked by voters.
www.brisbanetimes.com.au

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 2d


Absurdly high stated familiarity, over 40 per cent for names only a real politics junkie would recognise, let alone have an opinion about.

I'm excessively online and the most I could say about many of the names on the list is "rings a bell".

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 2d
Another fail from #Nine. A Resolve survey shows a big increase in the rated lilkeability (whatever that means) of nearly all Oz politicians. Hanson and Joyce share in this, but remain near the bottom, contrary to headline. #auspol

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 2d
Some good news to start the New Year
Cheap Solar Is Transforming Lives and Economies Across Africa
Chinese panels are now so affordable that businesses and families are snapping them up, slashing their bills and challenging utilities.
www.nytimes.com

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 3d
The only bad faith in the environment package was shown by Albo when he reneged on his deal with Greens.

I've chosen to focus here on something definite (legislation), since "implementation" is much harder to measure. But Iimplementation of HAFF, NACC and social media ban has been a mess.

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 3d
True in the past. But Trump is happy to hand Europe to the Russians and ambivalent about constraining China. All he really wants is the Americas, expanded to include Greenland. As you say, Brazil is genuinely multilateralist. India's role complicated by rise of Hindu nationalism.

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 3d
My point is that USA is the most important power pushing for a new world order based on "spheres of influence". A lot of discussions presume the opposite.

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 3d
One of two teams of tories. He fights the other team

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 3d
Odd not to include USA in the great powers list. Neither India nor China is talking about annexing other countries (China doesn't see Taiwan as a country) or even explicitly about "spheres of influence". US and Russia (which scarcely counts as a great power) the leaders here.

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 3d
Prediction: #Albo will cave and call a Royal Commission, probably in week 1 of 2026. This is characteristic Albo - hold off doing anything difficult as long as possible, sometimes successfully, sometimes not (see Stage 3 tax cuts) #auspol

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 3d
Legislation not passed this term. I'm sticking to a well-defined data set here. More on the social media ban later,

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 3d
Social media bill wasn't passed this term. I mentioned the others and the fact that there were 50 bills. Do you have a point?

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 3d
I'm only doing second-term legislation in this post. I've dumped on NACC, HAFF and the Voice campaign often enough already.

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 4d
Labor delivers net zero (policy achievements) #auspol

Legislation so far in second term adds up to zilch
Labor delivers net zero (policy achievements)
Legislation so far in second term adds up to zilch
johnquigginblog.substack.com

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 4d
If he had a program of action and a clear narrative, I might agree. But he obviously doesn't.

And testing whether ASIO (also firearms regulators) f*cked up is precisely the kind of thing RCs are useful for.

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 4d
Just ahead of the zeitgeist on this. Posted yesterday, today there are pieces in Guardian, ABC and Nine all making the same point
johnquiggin.bsky.social John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 5d
I don't understand why #Albo is resisting a national Royal Commission into the Bondi massacre. RCs have a patchy record at finding anything useful, but are a reliable way of taking heat off a government. #auspol

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 5d
I know all that, I'm commenting on Albo's political judgement.

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 5d
What is the role of AI here? Bogus photo-shopped history has been on FB every since it existed.
www.reuters.com/article/fact...
Fact Check: Image purporting to show Time magazine cover warning of an impending ice age is digitally altered
An image purporting to show a Time magazine cover warning of an impending ice age is digitally altered.
www.reuters.com

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 5d
I don't understand why #Albo is resisting a national Royal Commission into the Bondi massacre. RCs have a patchy record at finding anything useful, but are a reliable way of taking heat off a government. #auspol

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 7d
Tesla has a commodity battery business, a car business that is going out backwards, a robotaxi business that operates 29 cars, and a tele-operated robot. Tesla is valued by the stock market at 1 trillion dollars. Choose your own explanation.
a4xrbj1.bsky.social Andrea Basso @a4xrbj1.bsky.social · 7d
Tesla is facing its first annual sales decline in China, the world's largest electric vehicle market.

While the drop may appear relatively small, it signaled deeper trouble in a market where competitors like BYD and Xiaomi have posted record growth.

/1
Tesla hit with stunning setback in key market: 'It's going to continue getting worse and worse'
"You cannot compete forever."
finance.yahoo.com

Reposted by John Quiggin

a4xrbj1.bsky.social
Andrea Basso @a4xrbj1.bsky.social · 7d
Tesla is facing its first annual sales decline in China, the world's largest electric vehicle market.

While the drop may appear relatively small, it signaled deeper trouble in a market where competitors like BYD and Xiaomi have posted record growth.

/1
Tesla hit with stunning setback in key market: 'It's going to continue getting worse and worse'
"You cannot compete forever."
finance.yahoo.com

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 7d
NATO chief Rutte says "A safe Arctic is crucial for the United States, and we can only defend that together, European and American NATO allies."

Umm, how does the invasion/annexation of Greenland fit into this story?

www.euronews.com/my-...

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 7d
Followed by a patently absurd claim of 50 per cent from housing lobby which goes unchallenged by the (apparently innumerate) economics correspondent.

All that’s missing is a voxpop from a photogenic young couple (this would be compulsory in the NY TImes, and is becoming standard here)

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 7d
An unreadable graph in different shades of blue which when decoded shows that government charges constitute around 5 per cent of the price of a house and land package

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 7d
This Nine piece on the perennial favourite of red tape commits every possible sin of old-style journalism. It's supposedly based on a Productivity Commission report, but no link to that, rather a heap of links to other Nine articles.
The amount that red tape is adding to the cost of new homes
The Productivity Commission has estimated how much in regulation is being added to the cost of a home. It’s a lot.
www.smh.com.au

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 8d
Oddly enough, I took this off the shelf yesterday to re-read it. Just as good as I remember.