MBS Media coverage

Jobless heading for 1 million

The Australian, pg 1, 31 December 2008
The global financial crisis could force unemployment towards the one million mark next financial year, despite further expected dramatic interest rate cuts by the Reserve Bank. In a gloomy new year outlook, economists, including MBS Associate Professor Mark Crosby, are predicting unemployment could rise through 2009 from its current 4.4 per cent level towards 8 per cent, costing a further 400,000 people their jobs and pushing the number of unemployed to more than 900,000 the worst level in a decade.

One million people unemployed

Sunshine FM Perth, 31 December 2008
MBS Associate Professor Mark Crosby predicts that up to one million people could be unemployed in 2009.

Unemployment rate blow out

3AW , 31 December 2008
Some experts predict the unemployment rate may blow out to up to a million jobless people next year. Mark Crosby, Associate Professor Melbourne Business School, believes the rate could rise to 8% by 2010.

The Amazing power of Australia’s chemists

The Australian Financial Review, pg 11, 30 December 2008
The Pharmacy Guild negotiates Community Pharmacy Agreements with the Federal Government. MBS Professor Paul Kerin says that these agreements mean Australians are forced to pay too much for their medications. The Guild, a non-profit organisation, also has a for-profit arm, the Guild Group, which makes a profit from some services such as information leaflets pharmacists distribute for pharmaceutical companies.

The strategy fad is dead, long live thinking

The Australian Financial Review, pg 24, 30 December 2008
The financial crisis has led critics to accuse business strategists and consultants, such as the influential Michael Porter, of leading businesses down the wrong path. Mr Porter’s books such as 'Competitive Advantage of Nations' are bestsellers and his seminars draw crowds to rival the rock concerts at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre. Mark Stigter of Melbourne Business School’s Mt Eliza Executive Education says now it is time for a rethink. Mr Sigter says the solution is working on the day-to-day issues of the company rather than a strategy that eats into time, money and resources.

Transform into friends of society

John Armstrong, The Australian, 26 December 2008
In the second article in a series on the future of the humanities MBS Philosopher-in-residence John Armstrong makes the case for liberating them from the academy’s supply-side rut.

Auto industry to survive?

3AW Drive, 23 December 2008
Melbourne Business School’s Professor Paul Kerin says that Kevin Rudd’s $6bn to prop up the automotive industry is about four times the cost of the US industry handout by George W Bush. Kerin says that the Productivity Commission estimates the industry will survive without assistance under Bracks' recommendations.

Unblock the arteries before it’s too late

Sam Wylie, AFR, pg 62, 20 December 2008
The credit crisis has wreaked havoc on bank’s key function of turning liquidity into credit. Despite the US Federal Reserve’s decision to allow US banks to access liquidity at 0 percent interest to get credit flowing again, banks are still suffering from low confidence, writes MBS Senior Fellow Sam Wylie.

Early births get the bonus

Australian Financial Review, pg 3, 19 December 2008
The rush is on for expectant mothers to deliver their babies before the new year when the federal government’s $5000 baby bonus becomes means-tested for the first time. The baby boom triggered by the baby bonus has previously been documented by Melbourne Business School economics professor Joshua Gans and the Australian National University’s Andrew Leigh who examined the birth rate when the bonus was introduced in July 2004 and when it was increased to $4000 in July 2006. They found that more children were born on July 1, 2004 than on any other single date in the past 30 years. Professor Gans expects a similar spike around Christmas this year but with the births being brought forward, rather than mothers trying to hold on.

Policy changes risk being too late

Mark Crosby, The Age, pg 10, 17 December 2008
The Government should be more aggressive in stimulating the economy, says MBS Associate Professor Mark Crosby.

Canberra must stop limiting the supply of uni education

Paul Kerin, The Australian, pg 23, 15 December 2008
It’s time to free the university education market. Anxious Year 12 students receive their results this week. After all their hard work, shouldn't students be able to study any course provided they meet a required quality threshold and their study would produce more benefits than costs? Yes, writes MBS Professor Paul Kerin. Read the full article.

Overlooked solution to credit crunch

The Australian, pg 8, 15 December 2008
Give households access to equity finance to tackle the debt crisis, argues Christopher Joye from Rismark International. Joye notes that leading academics including Edward Glaeser at Harvard, Barry Nalebuff at Yale, Luigi Zingales at the University of Chicago and MBS Professor Joshua Gans are calling on governments to help borrowers swap a portion of their mortgage debt for shared equity-style instruments.

‘Less-loyal’ younger staff in the firing line

The Age, pg 1, 12 December 2008
Companies laying off staff are keeping the 'grey hairs' and dropping off younger gen-Y workers because they are perceived as ‘less loyal’ – retribution for the past five years of job ‘churn’. Research conducted by MBS Professor Ian Williamson highlights the risks associated with lay-offs noting that the loss of social networks has a huge negative impact on the business if the departure has been handled badly.

Banks may give up on ATMs after fees shake up: move favours independent providers

The Age, pg 3, 11 December 2008
Some fees for using automatic teller machines will disappear, and any fees levied by an ATM provider will have to be clearly displayed on the screen, under changes to be brought in early next year. Melbourne Business School Professor Joshua Gans said the reforms, which also make it cheaper to set up an ATM, would encourage banks to get out of the ATM business.

Banks to say ‘no’ to ATMs?

3AW Afternoons, 11 December 2008
MBS Professor Joshua Gans comments on Reserve Bank changes to ATMs. Gans says that the Reserve Bank is making these changes to make the pricing of ATMs more transparent to consumers. He suggests that the changes could mean that banks will not have ATMs, and instead there will be several competing ATM groups.

Gen Y in the firing line

smh.com.au, 10 December 2008
Companies laying off staff are keeping the grey hairs and dropping off younger Gen Y workers because they are perceived as 'less loyal' - retribution for the past five years of job 'churn'. Research by Associate Professor Ian O. Williamson at the Melbourne Business School earlier this year showed that loss of intellectual property isn't the only casualty when people leave; the loss of social networks has a huge negative impact on the business if the departure has been handled badly. Read the full article.

Transforming talent losses into gains

Business Digest, pg 27, 10 December 2008
Do you know why your employee retention programs aren’t reducing turnover rates? Deepak Somaya and MBS Professor Ian O. Williamson explain why and propose new rules of engagement for fighting the “war for talent.”

Release payments earlier

ABC 2 News Breakfast , 08 December 2008
Prof. Paul Kerin from the Melbourne Business School discusses the effects the Rudd Government's stimulus package will have on the economy. He says he doesn't think the Government should be increasing payments and wishes the Government had released the payments earlier so they would be more likely to be spent on domestic products.

Telstra's Grouchy and his snow-white job in broadband fairytale

Paul Kerin, The Australian, pg 28, 08 December 2008
Telstra wants Communications Minister Stephen Conroy to think he faces a Hobson's choice on the National Broadband Network: Telstra or nothing. Nonsense! Indeed, Conroy should be thinking, "anyone but Telstra", writes MBS Professor Paul Kerin. Read the full article.

Former Mt Eliza Executive Education teacher new head of ACU National Business School

Campus Review, pg 2, 08 December 2008
ACU National has appointed Dr Brian D’Netto as the new national head of the School of Business. Dr. D’Netto previously taught at Mt Eliza Executive Education