Stewart Nixon PhD

Author: stewartnixon

  • The erosion of economic institutions

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    stewartnixon

    Never one to waste my own free labour, I was reminded recently of a piece drafted in August that never made it to publication. Having read it again, it is still resonant and relevant as the year approaches an end. A fundamental reminder that economic institutions are critical to prosperity and not to be taken…

  • Deflecting attention from poor retirement savings generation

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    stewartnixon

    Full disclosure: at the time of writing I am not personally invested in Malaysia’s retirement savings scheme EPF. But as someone who used to work on pension (superannuation) policies in Australia, the fire still burns. Enough that when the 13th Malaysia Plan and the purportedly ‘expert’ debate associated with it completely missed the point I…

  • Understanding tariff shocks does not require a trade model

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    stewartnixon

    In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find a trade model built for the job. Models designed to simulate what happens when tariffs (and other trade impediments) are removed are not calibrated to measure the imposition of tariffs. Anyone claiming tariff liberalisation and imposition have the same magnitude impacts lacks a fundamental understanding of how…

  • Welcome to the website!

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    stewartnixon

    Finally getting the site up and running to host my collected works and thoughts in lieu of the now defunct university profile page. Don’t expect a lot of blog activity unless a 36-hour day is invented, but there’s a lot going on in the world that is awfully tempting to talk about.

  • To blog or not to blog…

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    stewartnixon

    We shall see, and whatever will be, will be. I’m often a busy bee, and not a postie, but will seek to break free.