Global Economy
Will cryptocurrency allow Russia to bust sanctions?
It wasn’t that long ago that sanctions busting was a relatively straightforward, if risky, gig. As Australian wheat exporter AWB showed when Saddam Hussein’s Iraq was under…
Russia’s war will hasten the drive for clean energy security
Russia is a huge producer and exporter of fossil fuels, especially oil and gas. By waging war on Ukraine and all this brings with it for geopolitics, its energy trade will change…
Economic diplomacy: Slow dividends for Australia from ASEAN spending
Wooing the neighbours
The Morrison government has committed almost $700 million to new non-Covid initiatives in Southeast Asia over the past two years, seeking to rebuild…
Commentary
There is an economic front line too
National security in Australia usually has a khaki tinge to it. But the fragility of global supply chains and potential for coercion means the economy must be recruited as well…
Economic diplomacy: Mission critical as Australia’s own BRI gains pace
Hey big spender
The first loans under the Morrison government’s new program to support the production of critical minerals provides another insight into just how central the…
US monetary policy: the ripple effect
Book Review: The Lords of Easy Money: How the Federal Reserve Broke the American Economy, by Christopher Leonard (Simon & Schuster, 2022)
A book focused on the…
Bitcoin vs the IMF, and other great expectations
Digital divide
El Salvador ranks only 89th on the latest index of cryptocurrency adoption around the world, but it may be at the frontline of one of the fascinating global…
Will the EU step up to secure rules-based Indo-Pacific trade?
On 16 September 2021 China lodged an application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). This immediately kicked-off a debate…
Australia has a solution to Indonesia’s soaring food prices
Indonesia suffers from some of the highest food prices in Southeast Asia. Over the past decade, government policies focussed on food self-sufficiency have contributed to this…
Bang for buck: Getting the most out of Pacific Islander remittances
Pacific Islanders working abroad regularly send money back home as ongoing support to family and communities. But these remittances also play a vital role in times of emergency…