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Robert Breunig

Robert Breunig

Professor of Economics, Australian National University

Robert Breunig conducts research in three main areas: economics of the household; empirical industrial organisation; and statistical and econometric theory. In recent work, he has studied the inter-generational transmission of dependence on government assistance; he has examined the relationship between women’s labour supply and child care policy and studied optimal child care subsidy policies; he has examined the complex relationship between outsourcing and innovation; and he has evaluated new econometric techniques for analysing panel data models of binary outcomes.

He publishes regularly in respected, international journals. His research is motivated by important social policy issues and debates. His work is characterised by careful empirical study and appropriate use of statistical technique.

Robert Breunig’s research agenda have led to many partnerships with government organisations in Australia and overseas. He works regularly with the Australian Treasury, the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations and the Department of Innovation as well as many other agencies. He has been a consultant to private sector on marketing, mergers, bank competition and customer loyalty programs.

Robert Breunig particularly enjoys interaction outside of typical academic circles and takes pleasure in helping those who don’t usually use economics or statistical analysis to better understand and make use of these tools in their work. He has an extensive track record of helping the public service to build research capacity which he views as a particularly important activity.

He has received grant support from the United States Department of Agriculture and the Australian Research Council.

It's time to end Western Australia's $4 billion-per-year GST bonus

Jun 01, 2023 11:38 am UTC| Economy

The Morrison governments decision to give a special deal to Western Australia for the distribution of the income from the goods and service tax is one of the worst public policy decisions made in Australia in the past two...

Tax breaks cost a reported $250 billion, but handle these new figures with care

Mar 04, 2023 11:57 am UTC| Economy

Treasurer Jim Chalmers promised a Tax Expenditures Statement by the end of February and he delivered this week, just in time, on Tuesday February 28. The statement contains many headline-grabbing figures about the cost...

Success in life is tied to parental education. That's why we need to track intergenerational school performance

Feb 14, 2023 12:57 pm UTC| Insights & Views Life

The notion of the fair go is meant to be central to Australias national ethos. Its not easy to define, but most of us would agree it means the chance to reach your full potential, regardless of your background. This...

We need to restart immigration quickly to drive economic growth. Here's one way to do it safely

Oct 15, 2020 14:24 pm UTC| Economy

Faced with a difficult economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia needs to act quickly with creative solutions to reestablish immigration into the country, even before a potential vaccine is found. Over the...

Progressive in theory, regressive in practice: that's how we tax income from savings

Jul 21, 2020 14:24 pm UTC| Investing Economy

Were told Australia has a progressive tax system the more you earn, the higher the rate. And thats certainly the case for earnings from wages. An Australian on A$35,000 sacrifices 21 cents out of each extra dollar they...

Not so bad. Most of us who work long hours like the jobs we are in. Those who don't, change jobs quickly

Sep 02, 2019 23:18 pm UTC| Insights & Views Life

No biggie. Most of us who overwork like the jobs we are in. Those who dont change jobs fairly quickly Overwork? Most of us who work long hours like our jobs. Those who dont, move on We are forever being told that we...

Traditional culture may help Indigenous households manage money better

Oct 31, 2018 13:01 pm UTC| Insights & Views Real Estate

Few areas of public policy are as hotly debated as how to close the income gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. There are some uncontroversial goals, such as improving job opportunities and reducing the...

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Economy

Governments have been able to overrule the Reserve Bank for 80 years. Why stop now?

Pay close enough attention to parliament these next few days, and youre likely to witness something truly remarkable: politicians from both sides of politics uniting to remove the power of politicians to overrule the...

Western Pharma Shifts Focus from China to India Amid Rising Geopolitical Tensions

Western drugmakers are increasingly turning to alternative sources for drug production and clinical trials, shifting their attention away from Chinese contractors. According to industry experts and executives, this...

What the UK government's back to work plan covers – and why it is unlikely to boost people's job prospects

Ahead of the UK governments latest economic statement, the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, and the secretary of state for work and pensions, Mel Stride, unveiled a new employment support package dubbed the back to work...

Matching state pension to the national living wage would help pensioners maintain their dignity

A question that is perennially asked by financial experts is: can the government (in other words, the taxpayer) afford to keep increasing pensions? But in my view, the real question should be: what is the purpose of the...

Every state is about to dole out federal funding for broadband internet – not every state is ready for the task

When the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was signed in late 2021, it included US$42.5 billion for broadband internet access as part of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program. The program aims to ensure...

Politics

Alleged assassination plots in the U.S. and Canada signal a more assertive Indian foreign policy

A recent indictment from the United States Department of Justice has alleged an Indian security official was involved in attempting to assassinate a U.S. and Canadian citizen in New York. The alleged target, Gurpatwant...

Henry Kissinger was a global – and deeply flawed – foreign policy heavyweight

Declarations of the end of an era are made only in exceptional circumstances. Henry Kissingers death is one of them. Kissinger was born into a Jewish family in Germany, and fled to the US in 1938 after the Nazis seized...

The four challenges faced by Spain's new government

Pedro Sánchez investiture marks the beginning of the third consecutive parliamentary term led by the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE). After a fraught period of negotiations, Sánchez now leads a broad...

'Father of Reconciliation' Pat Dodson to quit parliament

Labor senator Pat Dodson, often dubbed the father of reconciliation, is quitting parliament due to ill health. Dodson, 75, told the Labor caucus on Tuesday he would resign as a senator for Western Australia, effective...

South Africa’s immigration proposals are based on false claims and poor logic – experts

The South African government recently issued a long-awaited policy statement called a White Paper outlining proposed changes to the countrys asylum and immigration system. More than 20 years after its first...

Science

Massive planet too big for its own sun pushes astronomers to rethink exoplanet formation

Imagine youre a farmer searching for eggs in the chicken coop but instead of a chicken egg, you find an ostrich egg, much larger than anything a chicken could lay. Thats a little how our team of astronomers felt when...

Do we live in a giant void? It could solve the puzzle of the universe's expansion

One of the biggest mysteries in cosmology is the rate at which the universe is expanding. This can be predicted using the standard model of cosmology, also known as Lambda-cold dark matter (ΛCDM). This model is...

MicroRNA is the master regulator of the genome − researchers are learning how to treat disease by harnessing the way it controls genes

The Earth formed 4.5 billion years ago, and life less than a billion years after that. Although life as we know it is dependent on four major macromolecules DNA, RNA, proteins and lipids only one is thought to have been...

How do crystals form?

How do crystals form? Alyssa Marie, age 5, New Mexico Scientifically speaking, the term crystal refers to any solid that has an ordered chemical structure. This means that its parts are arranged in a precisely...

NASA's first successful recovery of asteroid samples may reveal information about the origins of the universe

The OSIRIS-REx mission is NASAs first mission to collect samples from an asteroid in this case 101955 Bennu and return to Earth. OSIRIS-REx is an acronym for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification,...

Technology

AT&T Joins Forces with Ericsson for Open RAN, Ousting Nokia in US Telecom Boost

ATT Inc. is working on further advancing Open and Interoperable Radio Access Networks (RAN) in the United States. The company is planning to do this through its new partnership with Ericsson. The deal between ATT and...

Spotify Trims Workforce by 17%, Shares Surge Following Announcement

Spotify is terminating 17% of its workforce, which is equivalent to 1,500 jobs. This latest layoff is the third to hit the company this year. The Swedish music streaming provider revealed the new round of job cuts after...

Intel Triumphs in US Court: $2.18 Billion VLSI Verdict Overturned

A U.S. appeals court overturned a $2.18 billion patent-infringement award that patent owner VLSI Technology had won against Intel Corp. This ruling marks the reversal of one of the largest verdicts in the history of U.S....

UK's Ofcom Introduces Stricter Online Age Checks for Explicit Content

The new draft guidance from the United Kingdoms Ofcom reveals plans to implement stricter age verification measures for online pornographic content. To prevent children from accessing explicit sites, the watchdog suggests...

Montana's TikTok Ban Reversed: Judge Declares Unconstitutional, Stops January 2024 Enforcement

TikTok has been banned in Montana, and it was the first state in the United States to do so. A federal judge scrapped the order after saying it was an unconstitutional decision. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy...
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