Stephen Howes
Stephen Howes is Director of the Development Policy Centre and Professor of Economics at the Crawford School of Public Policy at The Australian National University.
Stephen's articles (4 total)
The aid budget ignored a deepening global crisis
Despite the economic and humanitarian shock triggered by the Iran war, Australia’s latest foreign aid budget failed to deliver the kind of substantial regional response the country mounted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pacific economies exposed as war in Iran drives oil shock risk
An oil price spike triggered by war in the Middle East could hit Pacific economies hard. Heavy reliance on imported fuel and limited storage leave island nations highly exposed.
Freer movement: Pacific priorities for Labor in its second term
Is the Labor Government going to take aid more seriously, and think more globally, in its second term?
How Trump’s tariffs will affect Pacific islands
Most Pacific island countries got off relatively lightly when Donald Trump announced his “reciprocal” tariffs. Ten were levied tariffs of 10%, the minimum handed out. (Timor-Leste also got a 10% tariff.) Three Pacific nations were given higher rates: Vanuatu (23%), Nauru (30%) and Fiji (32%).