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Richard Holden

Professor of Economics and PLuS Alliance Fellow, UNSW

Richard Holden is Professor of Economics at the UNSW Australia Business School and an Australian Research Council Future Fellow from 2013-2017.

Prior to that he was on the faculty at the University of Chicago and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He received a PhD from Harvard University in 2006, where he was a Frank Knox Scholar.

His research focuses on contract theory, law and economics, and political economy. He has written on topics including: political districting, the boundary of the firm, incentives in organizations, mechanism design, and voting rules.

Professor Holden has published in top general interest journals such as the American Economic Review and the Quarterly Journal of Economics.

He is currently editor of the Journal of Law and Economics, and is the founding director of the Herbert Smith Freehills Inititative on Law & Economics at UNSW.

He has been a Visiting Professor of Economics at the MIT Department of Economics and Visiting Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School.

His research has been featured in press articles in such outlets as: The New York Times, The Financial Times, the New Republic, and the Daily Kos.

The best way to boost the economy is the best way to improve the lives of disadvantaged students

Oct 29, 2018 19:41 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy

What if we had an opportunity to double the size of the tourism industry, or to quadruple the size of the beef industry, or to boost the economy by more than any of the presently proposed tax switches? What if we could...

Vital Signs: Australia's 5% jobless rate is not full employment; pushing up interest rates would be wrong

Oct 28, 2018 13:14 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy

According to ABS figures released last week, the unemployment rate in Australia has fallen to 5%. This isnt as low as the 3.7% level in the United States, but by historical standards it is low for us. We need to go back...

The housing market might deflate, but it might pop. Here's how

Oct 20, 2018 06:05 am UTC| Insights & Views Real Estate

There are two things that can happen to an asset price bubble. It can burst dramatically, or deflate slowly. Which brings us to the Australian housing market. Prices in Sydney and Melbourne continue to decline at a...

For all its worth, the banking royal commission could hurt a generation of battlers

Sep 28, 2018 08:06 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry is set to deliver its interim report no later than September 30. There have already been plenty of consequences for...

The GFC and me. Ten years on, what have we learned?

Sep 24, 2018 07:55 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

A little more than a decade on from the the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the largest bankruptcy in history, many of the worlds advanced economies are only now beginning to recover fully. I was on the faculty at the...

Central Banking Series

When cutting interest rates might not help

Sep 13, 2018 21:56 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy Central Banks

Theres a meme around official interest rates since the financial crisis, and it goes like this. Central banks have already cut them to nearly zero (or actually zero) but advanced economies are still languishing. Therefore...

National accounts show past performance no guarantee of future results

Sep 09, 2018 20:43 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics

Wednesdays GDP figures were good. Growth was up 0.9% in the June quarter and 3.4% over the past 12 months. As they say in baseball: You cant boo a home run. But you can ask how likely the batter is to do it next time....

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Economy

China Factory Activity Slips in January as Weak Demand Weighs on Growth Outlook

Chinas factory activity contracted at the start of the year, highlighting persistent pressure from weak domestic demand despite continued policy support from Beijing. An official survey released on Saturday showed that...

U.S. Government Faces Brief Shutdown as Congress Delays Funding Deal

The United States government was on track for a partial shutdown early Saturday after Congress failed to finalize a funding agreement before the midnight deadline. Although the U.S. Senate ultimately passed a bipartisan...

Gold and Silver Prices Plunge as Trump Taps Kevin Warsh for Fed Chair

Gold and silver prices suffered a dramatic selloff on Friday after President Donald Trump nominated former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh to replace Jerome Powell as Fed chair, easing fears about the central banks...

Wall Street Slides as Warsh Fed Nomination, Hot Inflation, and Precious Metals Rout Shake Markets

Wall Street ended Friday on a weaker note as risk-off sentiment dominated trading, driven by hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data, a dramatic sell-off in precious metals, and major political developments surrounding...

Asian Currencies Hold Firm as Dollar Rebounds on Fed Chair Nomination Hopes

Asian currencies traded in a narrow range on Friday as the U.S. dollar rebounded modestly from a near four-year low, following comments from U.S. President Donald Trump that he would announce his nominee for the next...

Politics

Venezuela Proposes Amnesty Law and Plans to Transform Helicoide Prison

Venezuelas interim president Delcy Rodríguez announced on Friday a proposed amnesty law aimed at releasing hundreds of prisoners and easing political tensions in the country. Speaking at an event held at the Supreme...

U.S. Approves Over $6.5 Billion in Military Sales to Israel Across Three Defense Contracts

The United States has approved more than $6.5 billion in potential military sales to Israel through three separate defense contracts, according to announcements released by the Pentagon on Friday. The approvals, granted by...

Syria-Kurdish Ceasefire Marks Historic Step Toward National Unity

The Syrian government and Kurdish-led forces have reached a landmark ceasefire agreement that sets out a phased integration of Kurdish fighters into state institutions, easing fears of a major military confrontation in...

Putin Envoy Kirill Dmitriev to Visit Miami for Talks With Trump Administration Officials

Russian President Vladimir Putins special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, is expected to travel to Miami on Saturday for meetings with members of U.S. President Donald Trumps administration, according to two sources familiar with...

Kevin Warsh’s Fed Nomination Raises Questions Over Corporate Ties and U.S.–South Korea Trade Tensions

Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trumps nominee to lead the Federal Reserve, is drawing renewed scrutiny over his corporate affiliations as trade tensions between the United States and South Korea escalate. Warsh, a former...

Science

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Technology

Elon Musk’s Empire: SpaceX, Tesla, and xAI Merger Talks Spark Investor Debate

Speculation around a potential Musk Inc has resurfaced as Elon Musks companiesSpaceX, Tesla, and xAIexplore closer ties amid rapid advances in artificial intelligence and automation. With SpaceX expected to go public later...

SpaceX Reports $8 Billion Profit as IPO Plans and Starlink Growth Fuel Valuation Buzz

SpaceX delivered a strong financial performance last year, generating an estimated $8 billion in profit on revenues between $15 billion and $16 billion, according to people familiar with the companys results. The figures,...

SpaceX Updates Starlink Privacy Policy to Allow AI Training as xAI Merger Talks and IPO Loom

SpaceX has revised its Starlink privacy policy to allow customer data to be used for artificial intelligence training, a move that could significantly support Elon Musks broader AI ambitions. The policy change comes as...

Nvidia’s $100 Billion OpenAI Investment Faces Internal Doubts, Report Says

Nvidias ambitious plan to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI, aimed at supporting the training and operation of next-generation artificial intelligence models, has reportedly hit a roadblock. According to a report...

Federal Judge Signals Possible Dismissal of xAI Lawsuit Against OpenAI

A U.S. federal judge has signaled she may dismiss a high-profile lawsuit filed by Elon Musks artificial intelligence startup, xAI, against rival OpenAI, dealing a potential setback to Musk in an escalating legal battle...