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Do superannuation increases come out of workers’ wages?
Today saw Opposition Leader Bill Shorten claim that past increases in compulsory super contributions wouldn’t come out of wages.
The empirical evidence shows that over time, when there’s an increase in compulsory superannuation, it hasn’t affected wages growth.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, press conference, April 17, 2019
How we project future trends in home ownership
Grattan Institute’s 2018 Money in Retirement report projected important changes to homeownership rates in Australia, especially among retirees. These were picked up recently in an article we published in the Conversation.
Here’s how we did it.
Why Australia’s old-age poverty rates are far lower than you might think
The conventional wisdom is that Australia has an especially high rate of poverty among the elderly. Advocates of increasing the Age Pension point to OECD research which shows that in 2014, 26 per cent of Australians aged 65 and over suffered income poverty, compared to 13 per cent across all OECD countries.
Which countries are most similar to Australia? Some answers might surprise you
To know how Australia is performing, we want to compare ourselves to other countries. But which ones? There are 193 countries in the world, and they vary along numerous dimensions. Even within the club of rich and rich-ish countries – the OECD – there are 36 members, ranging from Mexico to Switzerland.
How much does the typical Australian earn? The answer might surprise you
Every year the Budget brings with it talk of tax cuts and giveaways for middle Australia. Based on pre-Budget speculation, this year’s Budget will be no exception.
But who actually makes up middle Australia? And who will benefit from the tax cuts and other goodies announced on Budget night?