John Quiggin
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johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin
@johnquiggin.bsky.social
4.5K followers 140 following 4.8K posts

Economist & blogger @ http://johnquiggin.com, http://crookedtimber.org. http://johnquiggin.substack.com/?utm http://mstdn.social/@johnquiggin
I repost my content, using the #repost hashtag. You can go to settings/filters to avoid seeing the same post. .. more

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John Quiggin is an Australian economist, a professor at the University of Queensland. He was formerly an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow and Federation Fellow and a member of the board of the Climate Change Authority of the Australian Government. .. more

Economics 65%
Business 9%
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johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 1h
Regular reminders
* This is a typical piece of #Albo policymaking. Make the announcement and move on
* The gambling lobby has its fingerprints all over this
* Policy entrepreneur Jonathan Haidt is a charlatan with no relevant expertise who should not be taken seriously on anything

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 1h
I see no evidence that our e-Safety Commissioner is doing any work to test effects, but I found a couple of university projects aiming to do a before-and-after study. Hopefully, they will be able to release some reports soon

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 1h
While waiting for proper evidence on the #Albanese government's social ban for teens, I've been browsing a few Reddit threads. Summary
* Most kids have been unaffected, or found easy workarounds
* The only consistent bans are on YouTube, which force kids onto the main (very bad) YouTube feed.

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 2d
Room for some divide and conquer, here. X is really beyond the pale and won't attract many allies.

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 2d
Utilitarianism: it all went wrong with Sidgwick (he weak philosophical basis of pro-natalism)
Utilitarianism: it all went wrong with Sidgwick
The weak philosophical basis of pro-natalism
johnquigginblog.substack.com

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 2d
Not a relevant correlation. The constraint on banning X or algorithmic recommendations is the possibility of political retaliation from Trump, not any kind of market power that X might possess.

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 2d
Political power <> market power

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 2d
You seem to have got the distinction I was making. "Algorithms" turn media platforms into publishers, not common carriers like phone companies. Liability would force platforms either to drop them, or to use them very differently.

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 3d
You've missed the point. Reread the post, and if you still can't see it, get back to me.

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 3d
Anyone defamed on Facebook is defamed by Meta, and Meta should pay. Any expression of hatred on TikTok is published by TikTok.

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 3d
But the real need is to end the idea that a social media platform with a semi-automated process deciding what content to promote (an “algorithm”) is not publishing that content, and is therefore not liable for it.

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 3d
A successful UK ban on X/Grok would be both justified and desirable in forcing a break between Starmer and Trump.

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 4d
All changes are preceded by flimsy rationalisations for not changing. If deepfakes are what is needed to tip the balance in favour of a ban, so be it. And lets hope it leads to all out infowar with US.

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 4d
That’s the general story AFAICT, but I can’t tell much

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 4d
Agree 100%, but that would be hard. Kids can't vote, so restricting them is politically easy.

Reposted by John Quiggin, Steve Peers, Rosemary A. Joyce , and 9 more

adamserwer.bsky.social
Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 4d
The reactionary centrist logic is simple: if the left does something bad it’s the left’s fault, and if the right does something bad, it’s also the left’s fault for making them do it. It’s a simple formula and once you see it every one of their arguments is the same

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 5d
Social media ban for U16s reminds me of alcopops ban around 2008. AFAICT, produced some substitution of other alcoholic drinks for pre-mixed spirits, but that was about it. Main effect was to give adults something to panic about.

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 6d
International community agrees way forward on global minimum tax package www.oecd.org/en/abou...

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 6d
Supposing Trump allocates entire $2 billion of oil revenue to US forces for controlling Venezuela*. Given standard estimates of $2 million (long-term) per deployed service member, that's enough for 1000 troops for a year.

* This would break Venezuela budget, with disastrous effects

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 6d
As with Stage 3 tax cuts, the Voice and "no need for details", those who defended Albo's do-nothingism have been hung out to dry.

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 6d
Proved correct with a day to spare. Albo is as Albo does #auspol #RoyalCommission
johnquiggin.bsky.social John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 15d
Prediction: #Albo will cave and call a Royal Commission, probably in week 1 of 2026. This is characteristic Albo - hold off doing anything difficult as long as possible, sometimes successfully, sometimes not (see Stage 3 tax cuts) #auspol

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 6d
Assuming a second-strike capability, which means nuclear subs, and may not work even then. Otherwise an enemy has to nuke you first.

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 6d
We need Jindalee but having nukes exposes us to more risk than it deters

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 7d
Same as when Russia invaded Ukraine. Give what help we can but leave Northern Hemisphere to sort out their own problems

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 7d
Opening point: Ashes/election dead rubber, with England/LNP too far behind to catch up. Looking at rebuilding for next time.

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 7d
Sports team political commentary sinks to a new low here. Entire article could have been cut and pasted (with change of names) from a thinkpiece on the ages of the Australian Test team, making room for young talent etc. Even mentions Minns "pulling up stumps"

www.smh.com.au/polit... #auspol
Kellie Sloane can’t beat Minns next time. But she has a winning factor to spook him
The NSW Liberal leader has a strong team behind her, unlike Labor. After Minns, who will lead?
www.smh.com.au

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 7d
"Might" doing a lot of work there. Most studies I've seen suggest any effects found in lab tests are unlikely to be significant for humans taking reasonable doses.

johnquiggin.bsky.social
John Quiggin @johnquiggin.bsky.social · 7d
Did me no good, so I gave up when the studies showed this was true more generally. But YMMV