Articles from Grattan Blog

The gender divide at university

In 1987, for the first time in Australia’s history, more women than men were enrolled in higher education. Many things have changed in Australian higher education since but, as the figure below shows, the gender make-up of our university classrooms is not one of them. In 1989 – the first year for which reliable data were available – 71 per cent of teaching students were women; in 2016, the figure was 73 per cent. In nursing, it was 89 per cent in 1989 and 87 per cent three decades later.

More compulsory super hurts Middle Australia — however you look at it

Our latest research shows that lifting compulsory super contributions to 12 per cent would leave workers in Middle Australia poorer over their entire lifetimes – and that remains true under any plausible assumptions.

Who is homeless in Australia?

Homelessness is a growing problem in Australia. To tackle the scourge, we first need to understand who is homeless. Here’s what we know.

A better way of knowing if we’re in a recession

Policy makers need timely information to decide whether economic stimulus might be required. A new indicator based on the unemployment rate can help.

Election 2019: the result wasn’t the only surprise

The 2019 federal election: four surprising charts on what we know so far.

The Coalition’s tax plan will make the system less progressive. What does that mean?

We explain tax progressivity and its measurement.

School funding – where the money went

From 2008 to 2017, private schools got nearly all the increase in effective school funding.

What the Coalition’s tax plan means for high-income earners and the tax system

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has been dodging questions on how much high-income earners will benefit from his tax plan and what it means for the progressivity of Australia’s tax system. Here are the answers.

Batman Climate change returns

Climate change media mentions substantially declined from 2011. But in 2019 climate change is back on the agenda.

The misleading housing statistic that just won’t die

It’s the misleading housing statistic that just won’t die. But it isn’t a claim being made by politicians in the heat of an election campaign. Instead it keeps appearing in the reports of some of Australia’s most prominent housing researchers.

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