What Tony Makin taught us about macroeconomics with ex-Ambassador to OECD, Alex Robson

The late Professor Tony Makin was a leading Australian economist who made major contributions to the economic policy debate in Australia on the balance of payments and the effectiveness of fiscal stimulus, of which Tony was highly sceptical. In Economics Explored EP119, Former Ambassador to the OECD for Australia Dr Alex Robson, now an Associate Partner at EY, reflects on Tony’s contributions to open economy macroeconomics and the policy debate.  

About this episode’s guest - Dr Alex Robson

Dr Alex Robson is Associate Partner at EY. He has previously been Professor of Economics at Griffith University, Australian Ambassador to the OECD, Chief Economist for the Australian Prime Minister, a lecturer at ANU, and Director at Deloitte Access Economics. He is the author of Law and Markets, and has consulted to ASX 200 companies, Australian and NZ Government Departments and the OECD. Alex has a PhD and Masters in Economics from University of California, Irvine, USA.

Links relevant to the conversation

Celebrating the Life of Anthony John Makin

Gene’s Economic Explored conversation with Tony: A Fiscal Vaccine for COVID-19 with Tony Makin – new podcast episode

Tony’s critique of the 2008-09 Australian Government fiscal stimulus: Did Australia’s Fiscal Stimulus Counter Recession?: Evidence from the National Accounts

Tony’s paper for the Minerals Council of Australia which prompted a critical response from the Australian Treasury: Australia’s Competitiveness: Reversing the Slide

Australian Treasury’s 2014 Response to Professor Tony Makin’s Minerals Council of Australia Monograph – ‘Australia’s Competitiveness: Reversing the Slide’

Tony’s 2016 paper prepared for the Treasury reiterating the arguments he previously made about the ineffectiveness of fiscal stimulus: The Effectiveness of Federal Fiscal Policy: A Review

Alex’s papers with Tony (NB full articles behind paywalls): Missing money found causing Australia's inflation, The Welfare Costs of Capital Immobility and Capital Controls

Gene’s paper with Tony: The MMT Hoax

Thanks to the show’s audio engineer Josh Crotts for his assistance in producing the episode. 

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