MBS Media coverage

Salvation in death and the GST

Mark Crosby, Australian Financial Review, pg 59, 20 May 2009
Some painful tax measures will need to be considered to close the deficit gap, writes MBS associate professor, Mark Crosby. Read the full article.

Spending their way out of trouble

New Straits Times, 19 May 2009
New Straits Times journalist K.C Boey writes about the 2009 Federal Budget: For economist Joshua Gans, it was always going to be the case that the government would stick to its guns. "For all the talk that the global financial crisis has changed everything, it has done little," Gans, professor of economics at Melbourne Business School in the University of Melbourne, wrote in The Age. "The government, in the face of world economic turmoil, has stayed the course. We should consider ourselves fortunate that we had that luxury."

Businesses on the hunt with boomerangs

Australian Financial Review , pg 58, 19 May 2009
Companies are learning to turn employee defections into opportunities, writes Fiona Smith. The common view of employee mobility is that when good people leave your organisation, it is a loss. You have lost their expertise, the advantage of their personal and professional relationships and you now have to go about the expensive and fraught process of finding and recruiting a suitable replacement. Melbourne Business School’s Ian Williamson takes another perspective. When people leave, they can also be an extremely valuable resource for their former employer.

Spending, deficits and middle class welfare

ABC Radio National, 18 May 2009
MBS economist Paul Kerin comments on last week's budget and offers a bleak assessment of the government when it comes to economic management. As a long time Labor voter at the federal level, he believes the economic situation now requires someone like a Margaret Thatcher to toss out the garbage.

Missing a rich vein

Sydney Morning Herald , pg 4, 16 May 2009
Government is thrashing around in the dark, with sticks for swords, confusing income and wealth. Melbourne Business School economics professor Joshua Gans says the crackdown on ‘rich’ households is fraught. “We really struggle in terms of our definition of who is rich. We need to decide whether we’re talking about individuals or households.”

Course behaviour

The Deal Magazine , pg 35, 15 May 2009
As demand for MBAs has fallen, Australian’s top schools have had to rethink the way they do business. Melbourne Business School models itself on schools such as INSEAD in France and the London Business School, where 90 per cent of MBA classes are international students. “Melbourne has 80 per cent in its full-time program,” associate dean of academic programs Jenny George says. “It’s a strategic decision made at our financial cost. We aim to have no more that 10 percent from any one country and no more than one third from Asia.”

Going boldly backwards

Joshua Gans, The Age, pg 17, 14 May 2009
The Government, in the face of world economic turmoil, has stayed the course, write MBS Professor Joshua Gans. Read the full article.

Departments offset fall in executive training

The Australian, pg 47, 13 May 2009
Government stimulus spending is set to support demand for executive education as government agencies move to improve the skills of staff. “The government is spending significant money on large projects and (agencies) need to be upgrading their people’s capability,” said Paul Kirkbride, deputy dean at Melbourne Business School’s Mt Eliza executive education arm.

Paul Kerin comments on the 2009 Budget

Paul Kerin, The Australian, pg 7, 13 May 2009
Overall total middle-class welfare if anything has risen rather than fallen in this budget, writes MBS Professor Paul Kerin Read the full article.

Little for CIOs to get excited about in the Federal budget

ComputerWorld, 13 May 2009
This article analyses the response to the Federal Budget from computer industry analysts and organisations. Melbourne Business School's Kwanghui Lim is quoted saying the budget may hold growth opportunities for CIOs in sectors that are tied towards specific investment initiatives such as providing IT solutions relevant to infrastructure, transportation, medicine, defence, R&D and education.

Expenses have caught MPs with their pants down

Financial Times, 12 May 2009
Financial Times columnist John Kay discusses the ethical problems that surround expense claims submitted by British MPs. The wide ranging article notes that extensive rules play a part in obscuring the original objective and intent of the rules. Kay references to MBS Professor Joshua Gans’ recent book Parentonomics to illustrate a point about incentives.

Battle ahead over cuts to rebate

The Australian Financial Review, pg 12, 12 May 2009
In a study prepared five years ago for Medibank Private, Melbourne Business School’s Ian Harper and Econtech’s Chris Murphy concluded the private health insurance rebate saved the government money taking pressure off public hospitals.

Government set to crack down on middle class welfare

AAP Newswire, 12 May 2009
The cash-strapped federal government is unlikely to deliver its multi-billion plan for widespread pension reform but has pledged to deliver paid parental leave from January 2011. Last year Labor introduced a means test curbing access to the Baby Bonus and Family Tax Benefit Part B to those earning $150,000 or more. Professor Paul Kerin from Melbourne Business School says the government is likely to go even further this year. "There will be tightening of means testing in this budget," Prof Kerin, who wants middle class welfare abolished, told AAP.

No praise for BrisConnections performances

Sam Wylie, The Age, pg 10, 12 May 2009
The BrisConnections lessons have hopefully sunk in, writes MBS' Sam Wylie. Read the full article.

Crisis sends shockwaves through sector

Financial Times, 11 May 2009
Figures circulating the Executive Education sector suggest a reduction in business of around 20 per cent is relatively common. But the decline in applicant numbers and revenues varies markedly according to program type and geography. In Australia, business remained strong until the New Year, says Paul Kirkbride, deputy dean for executive education at Mt Eliza Executive Education, part of Melbourne Business School. “Up to Christmas [the economic downturn] hadn’t hit us at all. But we came back after Christmas and it was as if someone had turned the tap off. Now business is going up again.”

Treasurer faces a whole new world after year of crisis - Brisbane Times

Brisbane Times, 11 May 2009
This article looks at the events that occurred post Wayne Swan’s first Federal Budget in 2008 and examines the policies that have been left by the wayside as a result. Melbourne Business School Professor Joshua Gans notes that we can’t blame the Government for the delay in introducing the planned emissions trading scheme.

Managers stressed out and distracted by downturn

Human Resources Leader, 11 May 2009
Managers are more distracted as a result of the downturn, with stress levels increasing in the face of the tougher challenges and choices made about issues such as retrenchments and budget cuts. While managers need to effect change, influence their teams to work more effectively and assist staff to be more creative and innovative about the future, they have to pay attention first, according to Richard Searle, program director, Mt Eliza Executive Education, part of Melbourne Business School.

Treasurer faces a whole new world after year of crisis

Sydney Morning Herald, pg 4, 11 May 2009
This article looks at the events that occurred post Wayne Swan’s first Federal Budget in 2008 and examines the policies that have been left by the wayside as a result. Melbourne Business School Professor Joshua Gans notes that we can’t blame the Government for the delay in introducing the planned emissions trading scheme.

We’ll need a Maggie Thatcher to toss out the garbage

Paul Kerin, The Australian, pg 29, 11 May 2009
The Rudd Government's early complacency, which soon morphed into panic, and its ongoing pandering to vested interests will destroy voters' faith in its economic management credentials. Read the full article.

Political realities

Radio National Saturday Extra, 09 May 2009
Geraldine Doogue discusses the idea of "fairness" in political realities and economic policy ahead of the Federal Budget. She speaks to Mark Crosby, Associate Professor at Melbourne Business School. Associate Professor Crosby says we have social welfare and benefits, but the workers do face risks and the Government should be thinking of ways to insure workers.