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Ben Phillips

Associate Professor, Centre for Social Research and Methods, Director, Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), Research School of Economics, Australian National University
Ben is an Associate Professor at the ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods and the Director of the Research School of Economics' Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Ben leads the microsimulation modelling team at the Centre for Social Research and Methods (CSRM) which produces the PolicyMod model of the Australian Tax and Transfer system. The team recently modelled the 2018-19 Federal Budget and has undertaken a number of modelling projects modelling the Australian childcare system.

Prior to this Ben was Principal Research Fellow at NATSEM where he led STINMOD, NATSEM's static microsimulation model of Australia's income tax and transfer system. Ben's main interest is the application of social and economic models to important social and economic policy matters such as income inequality, social exclusion, housing affordability and demographic change, taxation and social security and policy development.

Ben has published several reports with AMP in the areas of the cost of living, housing affordability, childcare and household debt.

Ben has a wide range of experience in both the public and private sector over the past 20 years in the field of economics and statistics. Prior to working with NATSEM and the ANU, Ben was a senior economist with the Housing Industry Association where he was responsible for housing and economic forecasting within the Economics Group. Ben also played an integral role in developing housing policy and analysis for housing affordability. He presented widely to conferences, industry groups and had a large media presence.

Ben has also worked as a methodologist with the Australia Bureau of Statistics for five years and an economic forecaster with the Bureau of Tourism Research.

Inflation isn't the 6.1% they say it is – for many of us, it is much lower

Aug 04, 2022 04:46 am UTC| Economy

We learnt last week inflation is officially 6.1% way above the average over the past 20 years of 2.5%. This is right in the middle of the Reserve Banks 2-3% target band. But although the rate is now 6.1%, not everybody...

Those future tax cut promises... they're nowhere near as big as you'd think

Apr 08, 2019 05:31 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

The 2018 budget contained big tax measures worth A$143 billion over the next decade initially targeted at lower and middle income Australians, but after five or so years to be heavily weighted towards higher income...

Economy

McDonald's is returning to Ukraine after shutting down six months ago due to the Russian invasion.

McDonalds announced on Thursday, Aug. 11, that it has decided to re-open some of its restaurant outlets in Ukraine. The fast-food brands return to the country comes after it shut down its stores six months ago due to the...

McDonald's raises prices of some menus for the first time in 14 years

Lyons Magnus' expanded beverage recall now includes the risk of botulinum food poisoning.

Lyons Magnus, a leader in the food service industry, has expanded its recall to include more than 30 other beverage brands in the list. Earlier this month, it already issued a recall to Oatly, Stumptown, Glucerna, Aloha...

KFC Australia added its first plant-based food item to the menu but for a limited time only.

KFC launched its first plant-based food option in Australia, and the new meatless item is chicken popcorn. This bite-size vegan chicken menu is available only in select locations in New South Wales. As per The Daily...

HiteJinro has yet to reach a settlement with its unionized drivers even after five months into the conflict.

HiteJinro and its truck drivers are still in sort of fight mode as they have yet to resolve their issues. It was reported that there was hardly any sign of possible settlement between the unionized workers and the company...

GS Retail decided to cease the operations of its Lalavla H&B stores due to sales decline.

GS Retail Co. owns Lalavla health and beauty stores in South Korea. The supermarket chain company announced on Thursday, Aug. 11, that it would be closing all of its Lalavla outlets after 17 years since entering the health...

Politics

The Latvian parliament voted on a resolution to designate Russia as a "state sponsor of terrorism" and urged the West to impose tougher sanctions.

Many countries have imposed sanctions and other measures on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in February. This week, the government of Latvia has given Russia the state sponsor of terrorism designation for Moscows war in...

In a letter to colleagues, Pelosi said the House will pass the Senate-approved Inflation Reduction Act on Friday.

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the chamber is set to pass the Senate-approved Inflation Reduction Act. Pelosi said the House of Representatives will pass the major legislation on Friday. In a letter to colleagues,...

The Swedish government has agreed to extradite a Turkish national wanted for bank card fraud as part of its agreement with Turkey over NATO.

The Swedish government agreed this week to extradite a man convicted of fraud to Turkey. The extradition comes as Turkey demanded several people be extradited as part of the deal for the countrys bid to join the NATO...

Johnson spoke to his UAE counterpart where they spoke about the importance of cooperation between the two countries especially surrounding Ukraine and other global issues.

This week, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan. The two leaders brought up the importance of coordination between the two countries surrounding Ukraine. In a...

A bombing at a seminary in Kabul killed prominent Taliban scholar Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani.

Another attack occurred in Afghanistans capital Kabul this week, adding to the increasing attacks that took place within the country. A bombing at a seminary in Kabul has killed a prominent Taliban scholar. Taliban...

Science

When compared to the current approach of extracting methane gas from organic waste resources and then reforming it into hydrogen, the technology SK ecoplant is developing can cut the time needed for the manufacture of hydrogen by more than 20 times.

SK ecoplant Co. plans to develop a technology to produce hydrogen through a fermentation process where microorganisms eat and decompose organic matter in the absence of light When compared to the current approach of...

The research team completed a patent application, trademark application, and vegan certification for the research findings.

A Keimyung University research team has reproduced the taste and fragrance of civet coffee, known as kopi luwak, by scientifically identifying the digestion and fermentation conditions where civets live. Consequently,...

Landsat at 50: How satellites revolutionized the way we see – and protect – the natural world

Fifty years ago, U.S. scientists launched a satellite that dramatically changed how we see the world. It captured images of Earths surface in minute detail, showing how wildfires burned landscapes, how farms erased...

What do molecules look like?

What do molecules look like? Justice B., age 6, Wimberley, Texas A molecule is a group of atoms bonded together. Molecules make up nearly everything around you your skin, your chair, even your food. They vary...

What science says about the best ways to cool down

We spend most of the year complaining that Britain is too cold and wet but gripe with just as much enthusiasm about the heat. Although moaning about the weather is satisfying, its better to take action and cool yourself...

Technology

Telegram CEO calls out Apple for App Store’s ‘obscure’ review process that is reportedly delaying the messaging app’s latest update

Telegram has an update ready to go live, but it has apparently been delayed for weeks now. CEO Pavel Durov aired his frustration over the Apple App Stores obscure review process that has reportedly delayed the release of...

Apple has reportedly invested $10 million for original podcasts that could later be turned into movies and TV shows for Apple TV+

Apple is reportedly increasing its investments in the podcast arena by closing deals with more production studios for original content. But this effort will not only benefit Apples podcast business as the iPhone maker...

LaLiga Tech has aided sports properties to safeguard over $9.2 billion in content and build more beneficial and direct links with their fans, demonstrating technology's potential to improve the business.

LaLiga Tech will help Liga Portugal develop its digital strategy and protect its intellectual property online as part of a wide-ranging partnership. Liga Portugal, which oversees the top two soccer divisions in the...

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts Apple will raise iPhone 14 costs, possibly increasing the base model’s price to nearly $1,000

Apple managed to implement significant upgrades to the iPhone line in recent years without drastically increasing its retail prices. That might change, however, the tech giant is expected to increase prices for the iPhone...

Microsoft says making Activision Blizzard games exclusive to Xbox will not be profitable in response to Sony’s criticisms of the $68.7 billion acquisition

Microsoft has responded to Sonys criticisms of its potential acquisition of Activision Blizzard. In a 27-page letter to Brazils competition regulator, the Xbox parent company has once again implied that Call of Duty will...