Is Australia fair enough? And why does inequality matter anyway? In Battlers and Billionaires, Andrew Leigh weaves together vivid anecdotes, interesting history and powerful statistics to tell the story of inequality in this country. This is economics writing at its best. From egalitarian beginnings, Australian inequality rose through the nineteenth century. Then we became more equal again, with inequality falling markedly from the 1920s to the 1970s. Now, inequality is returning to the heights of the 1920s. Leigh shows that while inequality can fuel growth, it also poses dangers to society. Too much inequality risks cleaving us into two Australias, occupying fundamentally separate worlds, with little contact between the haves and the have-nots. And the further apart the rungs on the ladder of opportunity, the harder it is for a kid born into poverty to enter the middle class. Battlers and Billionaires sheds fresh light on what makes Australia distinctive, and what it means to have – and keep – a fair go.

Is Australia fair enough? And why does inequality matter anyway? From egalitarian beginnings, Australian inequality rose through the nineteenth century. Then we became more equal again, with inequality falling markedly from the 1920s to the 1970s. Now, inequality is returning to the heights of the 1820s. The housing and cost-of-living crises we face are some of the defining issues of our time. In Battlers and Billionaires, Andrew Leigh shows that while inequality can fuel growth, it also poses dangers to society. Too much inequality risks cleaving us into two Australias, with little contact between the haves and the have-nots. And the further apart the rungs on the ladder of opportunity, the harder it is for a kid born into poverty to enter the middle class. Battlers and Billionaires sheds fresh light on what makes Australia distinctive, and what it means to have - and keep - a fair go. 'Fun, fascinating and fundamentally important. A must-read for anyone who cares about bridging our divides.' -Julia Gillard 'Be warned- this book will open your eyes and prick your conscience.' -Ross Gittins 'A thought-provoking book which emphasises how far we have strayed from confidently discussing public policies that seek to give meaning to our egalitarian spirit.' -Laura Tingle 'This is required reading for every Australian who seriously cares about the fair go enduring.' -Peter FitzSimons

War is traditionally considered a male experience. By extension, the genre of war literature is a male-dominated field, and the tale of the battlefield remains the privileged (and only canonised) war story. In Australia, although women have written extensively about their wartime experiences, their voices have been distinctively silenced. Shooting Blanks at the Anzac Legend calls for a re-definition of war literature to include the numerous voices of women writers, and further recommends a re-reading of Australian national literatures, with women’s war writing foregrounded, to break the hold of a male-dominated literary tradition and pass on a vital, but unexplored, women’s tradition. Shooting Blanks at the Anzac Legend examines the rich body of World Wars I and II and Vietnam War literature by Australian women, providing the critical attention and treatment that they deserve. Donna Coates records the reaction of Australian women writers to these conflicts, illuminating the complex role of gender in the interpretation of war and in the cultural history of twentieth-century Australia. By visiting an astonishing number of unfamiliar, non-canonical texts, Shooting Blanks at the Anzac Legend profoundly alters our understanding of how Australian women writers have interpreted war, especially in a nation where the experience of colonising a frontier has spawned enduring myths of identity and statehood.

A fascinating account of how radical researchers have used experiments to overturn conventional wisdom and shaped life as we know it Experiments have consistently been used in the hard sciences, but in recent decades social scientists have adopted the practice. Randomized trials have been used to design policies to increase educational attainment, lower crime rates, elevate employment rates, and improve living standards among the poor. This book tells the stories of radical researchers who have used experiments to overturn conventional wisdom. From finding the cure for scurvy to discovering what policies really improve literacy rates, Leigh shows how randomistas have shaped life as we know it. Written in a “Gladwell-esque” style, this book provides a fascinating account of key randomized control trial studies from across the globe and the challenges that randomistas have faced in getting their studies accepted and their findings implemented. In telling these stories, Leigh draws out key lessons learned and shows the most effective way to conduct these trials.

This book analyses the processes through which the modern forms of large fortunes are amassed. Despite the recent spate of governmental and non-governmental interest in inequality (be it wealth or income), the most privileged and fortunate have not generated much interest in mainstream economics. As the issue of wealth accumulation is multifaceted, the proposed book will not merely be an exercise in business history but deals with the issue from multiple perspectives, accordingly employing alternative research methods. Broadly, the trends and dynamics in high-tier wealth accumulation are coupled to the economic, political and social mechanisms that have been in play for at least half a century or more in some parts of the world. This approach leads to potential policy implications since much of the debate on wealth distribution centres on the extent to which wealth has been ‘justly’ attained. Further, how wealth is distributed in the capitalist system can have an impact upon economic growth.This book offers an alternative perspective on why we have witnessed the growth of a new social class of ultra rich. This book will be of interest to academics and researchers in international economic bodies.

People have good reason to demand decent public education and a well-funded health system, to yearn for an economy that doesn't trash the environment or for a smaller gap between rich and poor. Almost without exception, sound economics is on their side. We've grown used to public debates that pit people and the planet against an abstract, distorted image of 'the economy', but it doesn't have to be this way. Governomics shows that an emaciated state is bad for business, and that standing up for government means standing up for a public sector that truly serves the public. 'Everybody knows governments are wasteful, incompetent and a drag on the economy. But if you're not sure that's true, read this book.' Ross Gittins, Sydney Morning Herald and The Age 'Governomics shows that a market economy can only work when sustained by a strong and active public sector. It will inject some much-needed economic sanity into conversations on the role of government in Australia.' John Quiggin, Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow, University of Queensland

Who can be a larrikin and how is it used politically? The figure of the larrikin goes deep in Australian culture. But who can be a larrikin, and what are its political uses? This brilliant essay looks at Australian politics through the prisms of class, egalitarianism and masculinity. Lech Blaine examines some “top blokes,” with particular focus on Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese, but stretching back to Bob Hawke and Kerry Packer. He shows how Morrison brought a cohort of voters over to the Coalition side, “flipping” what was once working-class Labor culture. Blaine weaves his own experiences through the essay as he explores the persona of the Aussie larrikin. What are its hidden contradictions – can a larrikin be female, or Indigenous, say? – and how has it been transformed by an age of affluence and image?