Editors' Picks - 14 September 2014
This week in Editors’ Picks, we take a look at the gender pay gap consequences of having children, superannuation: policy suggestions and fact-checks, international comparisons of quality-of-life and a dash of sports economics
The Motherhood Penalty vs. The Fatherhood Bonus – Claire Cain Miller
Miller wades into the gender divide debate, by concluding that ingrained gender stereotyping is responsible for the gender pay gap, most acutely visible when women temporarily leave the workplace to have children. Relying on Michelle Budig’s paper for the Third Way- which found ambiguously that having children augments male salaries while harming those of women, this article points to a clear social injustice.
Finding Fairer Ways of Taxing Retirement Savings – John Freebairn
How government should best facilitate the process of funding retirement is a hotly contested issue. Particularly relevant to Australia’s ageing population, Freebairn offers some policy prescriptions to problems in the current system of administering superannuation. A web of incentives and concern for welfare, superannuation is a classic economic conundrum.
The Lottery of Life – The Economist
Another of The Economist’s several indexes, this aggregation ranks countries by ‘where-to-be-born’ in 2013. A ringing endorsement of true-blue Australian patriotism, Australia ranks highly on quality-of-life ladder, which combines a range of economic and social criteria to quantify ‘luck’ for being born within various borders. Follow the link to see which countries performed best!
Fact Check: Will 50pc of Australians Die Before They Can Access Their Superannuation? – ABC Fact Check
ABC Fact Check finds against Mr Palmer’s claim that more money should flow through to workers’ pockets now, rather than to super on the basis that super will not be accessed by a significant proportion of the population. These comments come amidst ammendment to the previous Labor government’s legislation, which had employer super contributions rise from 9.5% to 12% by 2019 (now postponed to 2025). A well-reasoned statistical refutation.
The Economics of Sport: How the Cost of Injured Players Has Ensured Fewer Fights – Andrew Leigh
In a healthy application of sports economics to the trend of decreasing on-field fracas, Leigh presents a few key reasons for this phenomenon. Convinced that referees are biased? In traditional style, Leigh provides the answer!