Research Fellow, Economics Program
Adam’s areas of expertise include financial markets and services, tax and fiscal policy, superannuation, and political economy. Prior to joining the CIS Adam was a Senior Adviser to the Leader of the Opposition and economic adviser to the Shadow Assistant Treasurer.
He spent six months at The Economist in London in 2009, writing for the finance and arts pages. He has also written for The Spectator, Policy Review, The American Spectator and co-authored a chapter for Oxford University Press on funded retirement systems.
Adam completed a Master of Philosophy in Economics at Balliol College, Oxford in July 2008, as a Commonwealth Scholar.
He started his career at the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. For six years from 1995 he was an (award winning) checkout operator at Woolworths.
Posted: 8:00 am on 8th December 2011
Two engines of the global economy sputtered in late 2008— the United States and Europe. Serious banking crises there provoked major falls in economic output throughout 2009. Unemployment soared and equity markets collapsed. It was the worst combination of economic maladies since the Great Depression 80 years earlier. The ‘great moderation,’ that short-lived halcyon era of economic contentment from the early 2000s, was decidedly over. The collapse embarrassed governments and…
Posted: 8:00 am on 3rd December 2011
News that federal MPs are to receive large pay rises is very disappointing – it is derived from extremely poor analysis and reflects a culture obsessed with financial reward. Put aside the fact that politicians are supposed to be representatives of the people. Put aside that backbenchers (let alone ministers and parliamentary office holders, who earn far more) already earn about $150,000 a year – incomes that place them in…
Posted: 3:45 pm on 15th November 2011
It was good to see a letter to the editor in today’s Financial Review regarding my piece on superannuation yesterday. The writer, a self-attested conservative, is correct to point out that the Australian retirement system is superior to most others overseas, where governments play an even more prominent and deleterious role in retirement provision. But I am less inclined to agree with the author when he says “there is no possibility…
Posted: 2:09 pm on 21st October 2011
So many of my Sydney friends and colleagues have been upset by the Queen’s absence from Sydney: the foundation stone of modern Australia, and indeed the Queen’s first port of call in 1954. The Queen’s presence in Canberra for about half of her 10 day trip – and making day trips to Melbourne and Brisbane! – makes it even odder. A reliable source informs me that the New South Wales…
Posted: 2:10 pm on 18th October 2011
I did my 2010/11 tax on Saturday night, I can tell you it was the most expensive Saturday night of my life. Having anticipated a small refund, I got a shock when I pressed Etax 2011’s ‘tax estimate’ option – turns out I owe the government many thousands of dollars. If this didn’t make me angry enough, why I am taxed so heavily infuriates me. Because I don’t like wasteful…
