The Money ABC listen
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- Cultura e società
The Money looks at Australia and the world through an economic lens. It explores how economics influences everything else.
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The Sleepless Economy: The High Costs of Losing Shut Eye
Australians have a sleeping problem. The most conservative estimates show one in 10 have a sleep disorder, which is having an impact on their safety, wellbeing and productivity.
This ends up costing almost a $1 billion a week. And that’s not all. The total cost of inadequate sleep is thought to be as high as $75 billion a year.
We’re not alone either. International research shows places like the US, the UK and Europe are facing similar problems, with similar costs.
Guests:
Shanthakumar Rajaratnam, Chair of the Sleep Health Foundation
Professor Ron Grunstein, The Woolcock Institute
Wendy Troxel, The Rand Corporation
Zafina Ademi, Health Economist, Monash University -
Global Growth: The Benefits vs The Consequences
You don’t need to be paying too much attention to be aware that economic growth matters.
Growth is central to economics. And growth of the last 60 years has delivered. We’ve seen a rise in prosperity, and developments in health and education.
But the pursuit of growth has also had consequences.
In his new book Growth: A Reckoning, Daniel Susskind explores the tension between the positives and negatives created by the pursuit of growth.
Guest:
Daniel Susskind, Research Professor in Economics at King’s College London -
All By Myself: The Economics of Loneliness.
Research shows loneliness costs the Australian economy $2.7 billion per year or $1565 per person.
The World Health Organisation has also declared loneliness to be a global health concern. And it’s estimated loneliness has an equivalent health impact on the body to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
Before the pandemic older Australians were found to be the loneliest in the nation. But now the data now shows this has shifted and younger Australians are the feeling the effects of being alone and isolated.
Technology has allowed us to be more connected than before, but has all this left us lonelier than ever?
Guests:
Andrew Dempster, Principal Director & Leader of the National Mental Health Advisory Business, KPMG
Roger Wilkins, Professorial Fellow at Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, and Co-Director of the HILDA Survey
Liesel Sharabi, from the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at Arizona State University.
Lixia Qu, Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Institute of Family Studies. -
Hackenomics
The growth of cyber-crime is considered to be the biggest challenge facing Australian businesses.
Collectively cyber-attacks cost the economy $42 billion dollars last year, with ransomware the most disruptive type of hack, costing $3 billion.
So what is the government doing? And what can organisations do, both to lower their risk of attack, and if the hackers succeed in accessing their systems?
Guests
Nick Espinosa, Chief Security Fanatic, Security Fanatics
Dr Jay Jeong, Senior Research Fellow, University of Melbourne
Dr David Tuffley, Senior Lecturer in Cyber Security, Griffith University
David Cullen, National Director of Advocacy, CISO Lens
Abi Bradshaw, Head of the Australian Signals Directorates Cyber Security Centre -
Puffed out: The Costs of Vaping
New research suggests that the increase in vaping across Australia will cost the health system an extra $180 million each year and that’s a conservative figure.
Vaping has been framed as a way to stop smoking tobacco, however it can also be a gateway to taking it up. It’s estimated that 13 per cent of people who vape transition to cigarettes.
The Australian government has called vapes a public health menace and introduced restrictive anti-vaping policies. But are these policies intended to drive positive change giving rise to a dangerous black-market?
Guests:
Professor Louisa Collins, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute
Dr James Martin, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Deakin University
Becky Freeman, Associate Professor of Public Health, Sydney University -
The Economics of Daylight Saving: It’s All In The Timing
Twice a year most Australians are made to deliberately mess with our body clocks. When we go into daylight saving and when we come out.
Many of us love the longer summer evenings. What we don’t love is the sleep adjustment that makes us feel tired, fuzzy and out of sorts.
There are plenty of arguments about whether daylight saving is a good or bad thing.
So in this episode we look at the costs and benefits and whether it’s time to rethink the concept.
Guests:
Dr Thomas Sigler, Associate Professor, University of Queensland
Allison Schrager, Economist & Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute
Dr Yevgeny Mugerman, Senior Lecturer, Bar-Ilan University
Dr Jayanta Sarkar, Associate Professor, Queensland University of Technology