Articles by Guest Expert

Do you know the tell-tale signs that your rental might be being used as a drug lab? Toxic chemical residue, fire damage, unpaid utility bills, damaged ceilings, modified plumbing, fortifications, and the aftermath of explosions – these are all potential issues for landlords who discover their rental has been used as some kind of drug…

Actor Chadwick Boseman, star of Marvel’s Black Panther, died in 2020 aged 43 from colon cancer. It came to light last month his estate would be split evenly between his widow and his parents, following a legal process. Although he knew for some time that he was dying, he did not make a will. This…

How many people are there in the world? How many die each year, and how many babies are born? These are key questions that we need to understand the world around us. The global population dataset is one of our most important at Our World in Data: it underpins nearly every topic we cover. The UN…

We learnt last week that inflation is officially 6.1% – way above the average over the past 20 years of 2.5%. This is right in the middle of the Reserve Bank’s 2-3% target band. But although the rate is now 6.1%, not everybody faces it. It depends on what you buy.   And there’s one…

How does Australia rank in the world’s $100 trillion economy? Quite good, actually! Based on the latest data released by the IMF, Australia ranks 13th, with a current GDP of $1.7 trillion. Visualizing the $100 trillion global economy Surpassing the $100 trillion mark is a new milestone for global economic output. We’ve covered this topic…

There are signs inflation pressures are easing. Oil prices are down almost 20% from their peak in March. They’ve been falling consistently for a month. The average capital city unleaded price is down from A$2.11 per litre in early July to a more bearable $1.74. The money market is pricing in much lower inflation than…

Australians pay too much income tax – or so some argue. The Australian Financial Review’s economics editor, John Kehoe, for example, has noted: “Australians are paying more personal income tax as a share of government revenue than any other advanced economy, except for the high-taxing Scandinavian welfare state of Denmark.” And the day after the…

Australian consumers and businesses lost more than A$2 billion to scams in 2021, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) annual Targeting Scams report released recently. This figure should sound alarm bells – it’s more than double the $851 million reported lost in 2020. The increase in losses was primarily driven by a…