Australian School of Business School of Economics
ECON 2103 BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT SEMESTER 2, 2013
LECTURE SCHEDULE (WEEKS 7-12)
AND TUTORIAL PROGRAM (WEEKS 8-13)
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Econ 2103 Weeks 7 to 12 Lectures
The second half of the course will look at some of the challenges, complex questions and conflicting forces faced by government in designing and implementing policy. The lectures will examine the issues faced by government in the areas of (1) redistribution of income (2) taxation (3) affordable housing (4) aging of the population (5) privatisation ( 6) wage regulation
Lecture Schedule
Lectures start in Week 1and finish in Week 12. Location: Monday 5 – 7pm CLB5 The lecturer for Weeks 7-12 is: Peter Nichols ASB465 Ph: 9385
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Week 9 23 -27 September
Government and Tax
Review Questions
1. Define vertical and horizontal taxation inequality. 2. Give examples of how vertical and horizontal tax inequity may occur 3. Distinguish between tax evasion and tax avoidance? 4. Why is the GST (in Australia) an example of a regressive tax? 5. How might goals of redistribution through the tax system conflict with the goal of economic growth
Discussion Question 7
Explain some of the challenges faced by the Australian Government in maintaining an equitable and sustainable tax system. In your answer you may refer globalisation, political lobby groups, an aging population, tax avoidance or any other relevant issue.
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Week 10 7-11 October
Government and Affordable Housing
Review Questions
1. Define the term “housing stress” 2. Name three factors impacting on the affordability of home ownership 3. Explain some factors impacting on the relationship between age and household tenure in Australia 4. Explain some of the factors behind the shortage of rental accommodation available to low income households. Is this shortage higher or lower in Sydney than in other capital cities? 5. Outline three ways in which government may attempt to make housing more affordable to low income families.
Discussion Question 8
(a) What is meant by the term “affordable housing” ? (b) Is housing in Sydney more or less affordable now than
Homelessness is an issue which stems from a large range of external factors which by themselves are difficult to address. One such contemporary factor in NSW regarding homelessness is the affordability of adequate shelter with the Sydney Morning Herald reporting the median price in Sydney to be $1.15 million. This has made it harder for individuals to afford homes which are adequate as per the requirements of article 11
This report aims to examine and show how economic factors and housing policy have affected provision of affordable housing in Dundee from mid 1900’s to present day. It will show evolution of
Before reading the paper, I had no idea what “horizontal equity” and “vertical equity” were. These terms were described in detail at the beginning of the paper and allowed me to more thoroughly understand the key points that the authors made. When explaining how certain parts of the Australian tax system function, the authors made analogies to compare the tax system in Australia to that of other countries, such as the United States. However, some words and terms that the authors used were not clearly defined in the text. Luckily, I have had experience with some of the vocabulary words that the author used, such as "tax burden” and "progressive income tax system". Although, When it came to terms like “marginal income tax”, I had to do further background research so that I could gain an in-depth understanding of what the authors were saying. The authors state, "at the end of 2012, the marginal income tax rate for a person on average weekly earnings had risen to 37%". This left me wondering what marginal income tax is, and why Australia’s marginal income tax had fluctuated so much; neither of these items were explained in the paper. I believe that an average reader, with very little tax or business knowledge, would be unfamiliar with a large majority of these terms. If I were the authors, I would more clearly define the terms that I commonly used throughout the
This policy brief is prepared to give some insights of the housing affordability problem in Australia. In addition, the paper also suggests some approaches in which the Government should consider in tackling the issue in the Australian context. Housing affordability always
Structural factors, such as the availability of low-income housing exacerbate on the already burdening individual factors. The rise in homelessness is mostly due to the decrease in the number of low-cost housing units. Nowadays, families were struggling to consolidate their current situations because they are unable to afford the housing need (Thomas Betar, 2012). Inadequate of affordable housing is one of the contributors of homelessness (Ghee WY, Omar RNBR, 2015). A large number of low-income people have been forced to move. Nearly 6,000 people older people who are aged 60 or above in Victoria need to pay the rent of more than thirty percent of their salary (Ronaldson, 1999). The shortage of affordable and available housing straightforwardly harmonizes to levels of homelessness and inadequacy income and insufficient of
Prior to urban renewal, Pyrmont-Ultimo had residents with similar incomes. However to achieve the goal of social equity plans were made for a mixed, high-density, medium-rise residential area. Approximately 7500 new dwellings have been constructed plus the renovation of 1400 existing dwellings. The aim was to cater for all household types such as families, couples and singles, provide affordable housing for middle to low income earners, provide residential dwellings with waterfront access and with water and city views, protect existing housing, retain a socially diverse residential population which includes all income groups, provide opportunities to live close to places of work and to create a high quality urban environment. The provision of affordable or public housing was an important aspect to consider in the process. Without some sort of intervention to provide this affordable housing, the attractiveness of living close to Sydney’s CBD would only be reserved for high income earners as dwellings would be too expensive and rent would be too high. From a social equity point of view it was therefore vital to provide
4) Explain the differences between statutory and ordinary income. Give examples of either category in your answer.
Canada 's housing market is at an all-time high, they are known in Vancouver for having the most expensive housing market. This expensive market is not just a Vancouver problem, it is an issue growing throughout the nation and is depriving the average citizen to be able to purchase a house in their lifetime. There is a major issue with the state of the market and how it affects the current citizens. Issues have been rising where the average wage in Vancouver is estimated at seventy-one thousand per family household, according to the Vancouver Sun (2014), yet the average costing home as reached between five hundred thousand in the municipality to over one million within Vancouver, according to articles by Beth Lindsay (2015) of the Vancouver Sun, and Troy Landereville (2015) of The Maple Ridge Times.
Within the United States, there is an unequal collection and distribution of resources. The current unequal or socially unjust tax system is a direct contrast to the social justice theories of John Rawls. The taxation discrepancy has ramifications on many important aspects of our society, such as health care, employment, old age security, and education. These issues affect everyone in our society, regardless of age, race, gender, or sexual orientation. Thorough more equal taxation, we have the potential to create a more society as a whole.
Housing Affordability in Australia has become the focus point for urban planners in recent years. In particular, South East Queensland (SEQ) has experienced significant pressure as the demand for property and affordable dwellings increases and population growth in the region continues. The issue has come to the forefront in discussions for local governments in the region and there is a real need to address the problem of housing affordability. The subject of affordability is complex and is contributed to by a number of factors including the impost created by Council processes, which is the scope of the HAF-T5 Project.
This essay will explain what Ideological and Economic factors as regards social policy making are and identify some of the factors used during the labour government of 1997-2010.Some examples /case study as to why certain factors were considered and used will be examined, this will aid better understanding of their effects on the policies that were made. The Market failure which actually gave way to the intervention of the government in the housing sector and the tools /policies that were used for the correction will be discussed.
Recently, The Australian housing market has been growing rapidly which reflects the housing affordability crisis as the housing price rises much quickly than household incomes. There are two key observations of current Australian housing market from Yates, firstly today’s housing affordability problem is mainly a structural problem and intensified by cyclical pressures. It began 40 years ago when inflation switched focus on housing, besides, there are more renters than purchasers under today’s housing stress situation, and the housing
Housing affordability is a perennial problem in Australia and has worsened significantly over the past three decades.
The lack of housing access was a serious problem, hence the government undertakes mulitple measures to tackle the massive housing shortage inherited from the colonial government to ensure that all of its citizens had access to affordable housing.[1]
This report examines the housing affordability crisis in Auckland, the current situation of the housing market, and extent of this problem. Auckland is in a deficit of houses due to the difference in demand and supply factors. The demographic and economic factors are the main reason for the increase in demand for houses. The supply side is not performing up to the mark to satisfy the demand in the market. The first home buyers are finding difficulties to make choice on their housing needs. The median households are struggling with the high rentals in Auckland market. Lower income households with faces a greater affordability pressures than those are living outside Auckland. There is a shortage in land and houses that are affordable for lower income households. The report suggests some new factors that can be considered to solve the affordability crisis.