The Economy, Stupid

Ransomware attacks across Australia have become a major problem for business, causing massive disruptions and costing millions to remediate. Recent attacks against Victoria's public health system, the local facilities of meat supplier JBS foods, and Nine Entertainment are part of an underreported problem. Australia is considered a soft target for attacks – what can be done and what should we look out for?Guest: Abigail Bradshaw, Head Australian Cyber Security Centre Australian Signals Directorate

New research has proven that the performance of Indigenous students in literacy tests can be significantly lifted by changing the context of questions so that students can see their own lives and culture in test questions. Year 6 and year 8 students in the Dubbo region took part in the study run by the University of New South Wales Economics of Education Knowledge Hub – as part an initiative to reduce inequality in Australian education.Guests:Professor Richard Holden, Director, Economics of Education Knowledge Hub, UNSW Business SchoolLily Spackman, Project Officer, NSW Aboriginal Consultative group

A quicker-than-expected economic recovery from the COVID-19 recession has added billions to the government’s bottom line, but that’s unlikely to be felt by workers anytime soon, with the cost of living slated to outstrip wage growth in the coming months. On the up side, official ABS data shows the unemployment rate dived from 5.2 in October to 4.6 per cent in November, after lockdowns had ended in New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT.Guest: Danielle Wood, CEO, Grattan Institute

Leading research on how adapting exam questions to make them culturally relevant to regional and Aboriginal students could close the Indigenous reading gap by 50 per cent and reduce the urban-rural gap by a third. better education outcomes. Ransomware attacks on the rise and Christmas scams to watch out for. Plus, analysis of the mid-year budget update and latest job figures.

Geoff Harcourt was one of Australia's best-known academic economists. He inspired and mentored many students and made significant contributions to public policy and economic thought. Roy Green reflects on the life of his friend and mentor, Geoff Harcourt.Guest: Emeritus Professor Roy Green, former Dean of UTS Business School

Booming housing wealth and unspent superannuation are increasing the size of Australians' inheritances, according to the first in depth study of wealth transfers by the Productivity Commission. Despite helping the wealthy get richer, inheritances and gifts are nevertheless shrinking relative inequality by giving a bigger boost to poorer households. The value of inheritances is expected to grow - what are the implications?Guests: Lisa Gropp, Commissioner, Productivity CommissionRobert Breunig, Director, Tax and Transfer Policy Institute, ANU

Australians have given away more than $1.5 trillion in the past 20 years and could be on track to hand over another $6 trillion in the coming three decades - what are the implications for inequality? Plus, Roy Green remembers economic scholar Geoff Harcourt.

A Sydney based software company that builds AI tools for the medical industry has raised $129 million in its latest funding round. Dr Aengus Tran and his brother, Dimitry Tran, co-founded the business after immigrating to Australia from Vietnam for high school. Harrison.ai's success is part of a record-breaking year for venture capital investment.Guests:Dr Aengus Tran, Chief Executive, Harrison.aiAmanda Price, Head of KPMG High Growth Ventures

Australia has a shortage of social housing – where rents are usually capped at 25 per cent of tenants' incomes. The Grattan Institute is suggesting the federal government should establish a "social housing future fund" to generate the income needed to construct thousands of homes.Guests: Brendan Coates, Director of Economic Policy, The Grattan Institute

The Committee for the Economic Development says Australia will entrench the next generation of poverty and disadvantage unless it improves information sharing between support services and governments. How can sharing data help identify those most at risk, and enable early intervention to break the cycle of disadvantage? Guest: Cassandra Winzar, CEDA Senior Economist and co-author of Disrupting Disadvantage

A new rental affordability index exposes the crippling price of rental properties across Australia for lower-income households. Regionals rents continue to soar as more people move from cities, pushing locals into rental stress.Guests: Ellen Witte, SGS Economics and Planning, Principal & Partner, lead author of the Rental Affordability Index

Finding a a lower priced electricity deal might be about to get easier. Plus, a new rental affordability index further details the crippling price of rental properties across Australia for lower-income households