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Jim Minifie

Productivity Growth Program Director, Grattan Institute

Jim Minifie directs the Grattan Institute's Productivity Growth Program, which is focused on policy reforms to drive Australian living standards. His team is currently focused on structural change in the Australian economy.

Prior to joining Grattan in June 2012, Jim spent 13 years at the Boston Consulting Group, including seven years as Chief Economist for Australia and New Zealand. There he was responsible for leading the firm's thinking on economic challenges – including the global financial crisis, the resources boom and climate change – and their implications for Australian policymakers and corporate leaders. His clients included governments in Australia, Asia and the Middle East and firms in media, online marketplaces, financial services, agriculture, industrial goods, logistics, retail, and resources and commodities.

Examples of his work include:

Public policy and public economics:
• Policy development: growth policy; development policies for middle income economies; foreign investment policy;
• Policy assessment and cost-benefit analysis: assessment of industry development policies and transport infrastructure; climate change policy; energy asset privatisation; low-emissions energy finance;
• Market and contract design: water markets; vocational education market design, energy infrastructure selection and finance design.

Private sector strategy development:
• Regulatory strategy: health insurance, resources, transport infrastructure, airlines;
• Policy impact assessment and response development: trade policy, tax, R&D;
• Pricing and contract design: media & marketplaces, finance, commodity exports;
• Financial structuring and funding: cooperatives, financial crisis response in banking;
• Governance reviews: cooperatives, vocational education, resource management;
• Sustainability strategy development: retailing, resources.

Jim has a PhD in applied economics from Stanford University and honours and masters degrees in economics from the University of Melbourne. His research focused on contracts, incentives, and taxation.

Do Australian banks have double the return on equity of banks in other developed economies?

May 22, 2017 13:03 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy

The banks in Australia have a return on equity which is about twice, if not more than that, what you see particularly in other parts of the advanced developed economies of the world. Treasurer Scott Morrison, ABC Insiders,...

PC sets groundwork for long-awaited look at super competition and efficiency

Aug 03, 2016 06:01 am UTC| Insights & Views Technology

The Productivity Commission has released its draft report setting out criteria for assessing the competitiveness and efficiency of the superannuation system. The final report will be delivered in November this year. The...

Digital disruption: STEM graduates and more regulation not the answer

Jun 16, 2016 05:43 am UTC| Insights & Views Technology Law

A complacent government could easily adopt a wait-and-see approach when it comes to the effects of technology on our economy, but a report from the Productivity Commission advocates what governments need to do to confront...

Economy

Beyond the spin, beyond the handouts, here’s how to get a handle on what’s really happening on budget night

Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, TV or news websites on budget night. The quickest way to find out what...

Johannesburg in a time of darkness: Ivan Vladislavić’s new memoir reminds us of the city’s fragility

Ivan Vladislavić is Johannesburgs literary linkman. He tells us, in the first pages of his new book, The Near North, that before cities were lit, first by gaslight and later electricity, people of means paid torchbearers...

What if the Reserve Bank itself has been feeding inflation? An economist explains

Heres something for the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia to ponder as it meets next month to set interest rates. It has pushed up rates on 13 occasions since it began its attempt to restrain inflation in May...

China’s new world order: looking for clues from Xi’s recent meetings with foreign leaders

There is broad consensus that Chinese foreign policy has become more assertive and more centralised in the decade since Xi Jinping has ascended to the top of Chinas leadership. This has also meant that Chinese foreign...

How India’s economy has fared under ten years of Narendra Modi

More than 960 million Indians will head to the polls in the worlds biggest election between April 19 and early June. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is seeking a third...

Politics

Labour can afford to be far more ambitious with its economic policies – voters are on board

To say that the Labour party is flying high in the polls is something of an understatement. But despite its consistent lead against the Tories, the opposition finds itself in a rather odd position: on the cusp of power but...

History for sale: what does South Africa’s struggle heritage mean after 30 years of democracy?

One of my favourite statues is the one of Nelson Mandela at the Sandton City shopping centre in Johannesburg. Larger than life, its oversized bronze shoes shimmer in the evening light, polished by the hands of many...

Sudan: civil war stretches into a second year with no end in sight

In the early hours of April 15 2023, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) a Sudanese paramilitary force attacked the military airstrip in the town of Merowe and deployed troops across strategic locations in Sudans capital,...

Turkey’s suppression of the Kurdish political movement continues to fuel a deadly armed conflict

The world has 91 democracies and 88 autocracies. Yet 71% of the worlds population (some 5.7 billion people) are living under autocratic rule, a big jump from 48% ten years ago. This trend towards authoritarianism can...

Georgia is sliding towards autocracy after government moves to force through bill on ‘foreign agents’

Georgias ruling party attempted to pass a controversial bill on foreign agents in March 2023. The law would have required civil society groups and the media to register as being under foreign influence if they receive...

Science

A Nasa rover has reached a promising place to search for fossilised life on Mars

While we go about our daily lives on Earth, a nuclear-powered robot the size of a small car is trundling around Mars looking for fossils. Unlike its predecessor Curiosity, Nasas Perseverance rover is explicitly intended to...

The rising flood of space junk is a risk to us on Earth – and governments are on the hook

A piece of space junk recently crashed through the roof and floor of a mans home in Florida. Nasa later confirmed that the object had come from unwanted hardware released from the international space station. The 700g,...

Peter Higgs was one of the greats of particle physics. He transformed what we know about the building blocks of the universe

Peter Higgs, who gave his name to the subatomic particle known as the Higgs boson, has died aged 94. He was always a modest man, especially when considering that he was one of the greats of particle physics the area of...

Could a telescope ever see the beginning of time? An astronomer explains

The James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST for short, is one of the most advanced telescopes ever built. Planning for JWST began over 25 years ago, and construction efforts spanned over a decade. It was launched into space on...

US media coverage of new science less likely to mention researchers with African and East Asian names

When one Chinese national recently petitioned the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to become a permanent resident, he thought his chances were pretty good. As an accomplished biologist, he figured that news...

Technology

Binance Reassures Filipino Users Amid SEC App Removal Request, Urges Balanced Review by Google and Apple

Following recent regulatory proceedings by the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Binance has finally published a statement to its users regarding the removal request for its app from the Google Play...

Shiba Inu Announces Shibarium Hardfork: New Capabilities Teased, SHIB Price Jumps 3.2%

Shiba Inu has announced a transformative hardfork for its Shibarium platform, set for May 2, promising enhanced features and a surge in SHIBs price by 3.2% in response to the news. Shibarium Hardfork Set for May 2:...

Qualcomm Responds to Snapdragon X Elite Benchmark Cheating Claims

Qualcomm has responded to the serious allegations that it cheated on performance benchmarks for its Snapdragon X Elite and Plus chips, targeting competition with leading laptop processors. According to Toms Hardware,...

Japanese Yen Hits Record Low As Bitcoin Surges Globally

In a stunning financial shift, the Japanese yen has reached a 34-year low against Bitcoin, which also hit all-time highs in 14 countries, fueled by optimism surrounding new spot Bitcoin ETFs. Yen Hits 34-Year Low as...

Worldcoin Targets OpenAI Alliance, Faces Scrutiny Amid Regulatory Challenges

Worldcoin, a digital identification innovator, is eyeing a partnership with OpenAI despite facing regulatory scrutiny and data privacy concerns. The collaboration aims to bolster its technological advancements and market...