What the upcoming budget means in the battle against inflation

Adrian Orr and the Reserve Bank will need help in their fight against inflation. (Image: Mark Mitchell)

Mon, 27 May 2024

Will the budget help or hinder the Reserve Bank’s disinflation battle? Eyes are on the fiscal stance, a broad measure of whether the government is adding or subtracting from aggregate demand.One box will be easy to tick. The other two could prove more difficult.Box one is the aggregate fiscal stance over the projection period. To get the government accounts from the red into the black, you need to be taking more money out of the economy than you are pumping back in.That box will be ticked. Every government can claim to tick that box, thou...

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