SAUL ESLAKE

Economist

SAUL ESLAKE

‘Welcome to my website …
I’m an independent economist, consultant, speaker,
and Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Tasmania’

About Me


Saul Eslake is one of Australia’s best-known economists. He’s been following, analyzing and offering commentary and advice on the Australian and other economies for more than 40 years.

Since 2015 Saul has been running his own independent economics advisory and consultancy service, Corinna Economic Advisory, from Hobart, Tasmania. Saul does keynote addresses at public and private conferences; participates in panel discussions; presents to boards, investment and asset allocation committees; undertakes customized analyses and reports for corporate, investor, not-for-profit and government clients; has given testimony to Parliamentary Committees; and appears frequently on radio and TV and in the print media in Australia and other countries.

His clients  include Australian and overseas institutional and private equity investors; large and small corporates; government agencies; industry and professional organizations; ‘think tanks’; social and environmental organizations; housing associations; and (occasionally) even political parties.

Saul’s economic analysis and economic reports have covered broad macro-economic themes including economic and employment growth, inflation, international trade, commodity prices, bond and currency markets, labour markets, productivity, climate change, household and corporate debt, public finance, fiscal and monetary policy, inter-government financial relations, taxation, climate change, and regulatory issues. He has also undertaken and published research on specific industries or themes including housing, tourism, agriculture, energy, infrastructure investment, metals and minerals, poverty alleviation, income distribution and inequality, taxation reform, shipping and transport, the future of work, and regional development.

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In 2021 Corinna Economic Advisory joined with a similar London-based economics consultancy, Llewellyn Consulting, to form Independent Economics to offer similar services to clients around the world.

Saul has been the Australian representative on the International Conference of Commercial Bank Economists (ICCBE) since 2003, and chaired its Steering Committee between 2018 and 2021.

Saul is also a Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Tasmania; a member of the Australian Parliamentary Budget Office’s panel of expert advisors, and a member of Australian Taxation Office’s ‘Tax Gap’ expert advisory panel.

In 2024, he undertook an Independent Review of Tasmania’s State Finances, pursuant to an agreement between the Premier of Tasmania, the Hon. Jeremy Rockliff MP, and the three members of the Jacqui Lambie Network elected to the Tasmanian Parliament in March 2024 (Rebekah Pentland MP, Miriam Beswick MP and Andrew Jenner MP).

Saul began his career as an economist working for the Australian Treasury, in its Fiscal and Monetary Policy sections, in Canberra, which provided him with a very solid grounding in how macro-economic policies are formulated and implemented. He then worked for the Advisory Council for Inter-Government Relations (specializing in federal-state financial relations and in housing policy) and for the Opposition (Minority) Leader in the Parliament of the State of Victoria, before landing his first position in Australia’s financial markets. Saul then worked in the markets for 25 years, including as Chief Economist at McIntosh Securities (when it was one of Australia’s leading stockbroking firms) in the second half of the 1980s; Chief Economist (International) for the investment management division of National Mutual Life Association (then Australia’s second largest life insurance company) in the first half of the 1990s; Chief Economist at the Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (one of Australia’s four large commercial banks) between 1995 and 2009; and Chief Economist (Australia and New Zealand) for Bank of America Merrill Lynch (one of the world’s largest investment banks) between 2011 and 2015.

He has also previously been a member of the Australian Government’s Foreign Affairs and Trade Policy Advisory Councils; its Tourism Forecasting Committee and Long-Term Tourism Strategy Steering Committee; and its National Housing Supply Council. He’s also previously been Chair of the Tasmanian Arts Advisory Board, which advised on the distribution of grants to arts companies and individual artists. He’s also previously been a non-executive director of the Gas & Fuel Corporation of Victoria; the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute; Hydro Tasmania; Housing Choices Australia; and the Macquarie Point Development Corporation.

Saul has a first class honours degree in Economics from the University of Tasmania; and a Post Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment from the Securities Institute of Australia (now known as FinSIA). He has completed the Senior Executive Program at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business; and (with Merit) the Company Directors’ Course of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He also holds a Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa) degree from the University of Tasmania.

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SPEAKING ENGAGEMENT

Speaking Engagement | Boardroom Advisory | Commissioned Report | Expert Witness



Saul Eslake spoke to Zurich Australia executives and staff at their ‘Accelerate’ conference in Sydney on 9th May 2024, covering short- and longer-term trends in major ‘advanced’ economies, China, India and Australia, with a bit of geo-politics thrown in.



“You are the best economic thinker in the country hands down”

Sheryle Bagwell, recently retired Senior Business Correspondent (and sometime Executive Producer),
ABC Radio National Breakfast


“Just want to congratulate you Saul on the unbelievably good set of slides you just presented, possibly the best I have ever seen. You have set the bar very high.”

Dr Joe Flood, Adjunct Fellow, RMIT University, Pandemicia


“Thank you very much for your excellent presentation for the Economic Society today. It is always a great pleasure to hear your eloquent, up-to-date and comprehensive talks.”

Andrew Trembath, economist, Victorian and Australian Government agencies


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TESTIMONIALS

What Others Say


Australian Minister for Housing, the Hon. Clare O'Neill MP on ABC Q&A, September 2024

“We are lucky as a State to have an economist of your calibre willing to readily make yourself available to give us a clea r perception of where we are at and the direction we need to go for a better future”
Diplomatic Representative, August 2024

“You are one of the best at what you do in the world”
Gail Fosler, Chief Economist, The Conference Board, New York, December 2002

“I have never known an economist to have such a knowledge of world economic facts and to be able to bring to bear so much information in answering a question without notice”
Charles Goode, Chairman, ANZ Bank, July 2009

“Saul Eslake is … a highly regarded independent economist with the highest degree of integrity"
John Durie, Columnist, The Australian, July 2009

“… one of the few people in this world who can have so many oranges up in the air at the same time but still manage to catch them"
Andrew Clark, journalist, Australian Financial Review, November 2008

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WHAT'S NEW

Most Recent Articles, Talks and Presentations


“Hiding in Plain Sight” – $180 billion of spending over four years.
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, The Australian Economy, Topics
11th November 2024


‘Tasmanian Money Matters’ – Tasmania’s Economy and Public Finances
Economic Policies, Tasmania
3rd October 2024


Challenges and Opportunities for Australian Agriculture
Commodities, The Australian Economy
1st October 2024


Negative Gearing
Economic Policies, Housing, News, Recent Media Interview, Taxation
26th September 2024


Will Anthony Albanese succeed where Bill Shorten failed in making changes to the taxation treatment of property investment?
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, Housing, Taxation
26th September 2024


‘Super for housing’ is a souped-up first home owners grants scheme – and it won’t help any more than first home owners grants have
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, Housing
24th September 2024


‘Super for Housing’ – a Thoroughly Bad Idea
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, Housing, The Australian Economy, Topics
19th September 2024


A ‘path back to surplus’ for the Tasmanian Budget? Not really
Tasmania
17th September 2024


What’s happening in the economy – nationally and in Tasmania
Economic Policies, Tasmania, The Australian Economy
13th September 2024


Tasmania’s State Budget 2024 – 2025 with Leon Compton
News, Recent Media Interview, Tasmania
13th September 2024


Tasmania’s 2024-25 State Budget – an Assessment
Economic Policies, Tasmania
12th September 2024


Solutions to Australia’s Housing Crisis
Australian Society and Politics, Housing, News, Recent Media Interview
11th September 2024


Tasmania’s State Finances – presentation to the Local Government Association of Tasmania’s Annual Conference
Australian Society and Politics, Economic Policies, Tasmania
4th September 2024


LINKS

Useful Links


Below is a list of links I’ve found useful under the following broad topics

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