Despite appearances, this government isn't really Keynesian, as its budget update shows

By Michael Keating, Visiting Fellow, College of Business & Economics, Australian National University

It is tempting to think the Australian government’s decision to spend big – bigger than ever before, an unprecedented 33% of GDP this financial year according to the budget update – marks an embrace of Keynesian economics after decades in which Australian authorities have looked the other way.

Keynesian economics – named after its founder, 20th century economist John Maynard Keynes – holds that when private spending…

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