5 April 2022
This MEF will examine and debate the federal government budget. With an upcoming election, rising cost of living pressures, a global environment of heightened macro and security uncertainty, and following two years of fiscal support through the pandemic, this budget must navigate a challenging array of competing objectives and pressures. This MEF will examine the economic environment in which the budget will be delivered, the budget’s macroeconomic implications, potential monetary policy / budgetary policy interactions, debt sustainability, and the inferences to be drawn on the election policies of the major parties from the budget and budget reply.
Danielle Wood, CEO Grattan Institute
Unpacking the 2022 Budget: Implications for the Economy and the Election
This presentation will unpack the fiscal and economic implications of the federal budget settings and the major measures. It will also look to what the budget and budget in reply tells us about the economic policies the major parties will take to the federal election.
Professor Guay Lim, Melbourne Institute, The University of Melbourne
The Budget and Macroeconomic Policies
The presentation will consider the Budget from the perspective of macroeconomic policies. Is the Budget indicative of a fiscal policy directed at stabilising growth? Have the macro projections considered structural changes, including the likely stance of monetary policy? Is the implied debt to GDP ratio sustainable?
Associate Professor Janine Dixon, The Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University
The 2022 Economic Outlook
The presentation will examine the 2022 Economic Outlook in detail. We evaluate the forecasts in terms of implications for structural change over the forecast period, including productivity growth, labour utilization, consumer confidence and the world economy