HomeChris Berg

Chris Berg

Adjunct Fellow

0402 257 681

Level 2, 410 Collins St, Melbourne 3000 VIC

Chris Berg is a Postdoctoral Fellow at RMIT University and a Adjunct Fellow with the Institute of Public Affairs. Dr Berg is the author of five books including In Defence of Freedom of Speech: from Ancient Greece to Andrew Bolt.

Dr Berg is one of Australia’s most prominent voices for free markets and individual liberty, and a leading authority on over-regulation, economic freedom and civil liberties.

The Cato Institute praised the “wit and grace” of his book Liberty, Equality & Democracy, and the Sydney Morning Herald described his The Libertarian Alternative as “spirited and sometimes wry”. His other books include Magna Carta: the tax revolt that gave us liberty and The Growth of Australia’s Regulatory State. He is also the editor of 100 Great Books of Liberty and The National Curriculum: A Critique.

Dr Berg’s articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, The Australian, the Australian Financial Review, and the Sydney Morning Herald, as well as magazines such as Quadrant, Spectator Australia and Overland. He has been a regular columnist with the Sunday Age and ABC’s The Drum. His scholarly contributions have appeared in the Australian Journal of Political Science, Econ Journal Watch, Agenda, and Trends in Anaesthesia and Critical Care. He is a frequent media commentator on television and radio and appears regularly throughout the electronic press.

He holds a PhD in economics from RMIT University and bachelor’s degree in history and political science from the University of Melbourne.

RELATED NEWS & PUBLICATIONS

Finance and Economics

The Blockchain Revolution

Chris Berg, Sinclair Davidson and Jason Potts Started 1 December 2017 Finance and economics,

Economists explain the far-reaching implications of blockchain technology on society and on how we are governed. A blockchain is a digital, decentralised, distributed ledger. This year saw a...

In The News

The Problem With Nobel Laureate Richard Thaler’s Nudgonomics

Chris Berg and Sinclair Davidson 12 October 2017 Finance and economics, In the news,

Economists have spent the last 240 years – ever since Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations – trying to understand how decentralised economies work. In that time they have established that...

Originally appeared in The Australian Financial Review

Submissions

Submission To The Senate Select Committee On The Future Of Public Interest Journalism

Chris Berg 21 August 2017 Freedom of speech, Ideas and liberty,

It is widely agreed that a free and independent press is an essential part of a democratic order. This submission addresses itself to the implications of the words free and independent. Government...

IPA TV

Why We Should Privatise The ABC

Chris Berg 21 August 2017 Ipa tv,

The ABC should be privatized. Watch the IPA’s Chris Berg this morning talk to the Senate Select Committee on the Future of Public Interest Journalism. You can read the full report here...

IPA TODAY

Medicare Details Available On Dark Web Is Just Tip Of Data Breach Iceberg

Chris Berg 18 July 2017 Government services, Ideas and liberty,

Modern governments use a lot of data. A lot. Our social services are organised by massive databases. Health, welfare, education and the pension all require reams of information about identity...

Originally appeared in The Canberra Times

Media Releases

SA Bank Levy Has Already Caused Harm To The South Australian Economy

Chris Berg and Sinclair Davidson 7 July 2017 Finance and economics, Ipa today,

A new report released today by the Institute of Public Affairs, has found that the South Australian Bank Levy has already damaged the investment reputation of South Australia, despite not yet...

Research Papers

The South Australian Major Bank Levy: Arbitrary, Unjustified, and Harmful for South Australia And The Rest Of The Country

Chris Berg and Sinclair Davidson 7 July 2017 Finance and economics, Ipa today,

In the South Australian state budget 2017-18, South Australian Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis announced that the state government intended to introduce a South Australian Major Bank Levy, one of two...

In The News

State Government Bank Levy Makes South Australia Riskiest Place For Investment In Australia

Chris Berg 3 July 2017 Finance and economics, In the news,

Imagine being an international investor looking at Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis’s Budget. You wouldn’t be interested in his infrastructure spend and “future jobs fund”. You’d immediately hone in on...

Originally appeared in The Advertiser

Ideas and Liberty

The End of Liberalism?

Chris Berg Started 1 June 2017 Ideas and liberty,

Liberalism is waning everywhere, but that offers the opportunity for renewal, writes Dr Chris Berg. Nothing in the language of the 2017 Commonwealth budget was exceptional by Australian standards...

Media Releases

Placing GST On Online Purchases Is A Tax Increase Which Will Place Australian Consumers At Risk

Chris Berg and Sinclair Davidson 21 April 2017 Finance and economics, Ipa today,

“The government’s plan to impose GST on goods purchased from foreign online retailers is a tax increase and should be rejected by the parliament”, said Dr Chris Berg. Dr Berg and...

In The News

GST Change Is A Plain And Simple Tariff, Scott Morrison

Chris Berg and Sinclair Davidson 11 April 2017 Finance and economics, In the news,

The Turnbull government’s proposal to eliminate the $1000 threshold before the GST is levied on imported goods is not a tax integrity measure. It is a tariff, and one that will have serious...

Originally appeared in The Australian

In The News

Diverted Profits Tax Will Go Nowhere

Sinclair Davidson and Chris Berg 28 March 2017 Finance and economics, In the news,

The Turnbull government’s diverted profit tax has passed the Parliament. Introduced in response to the moral panic that, somewhere, somehow multinational corporations don’t pay a fair...

Originally appeared in Australian Financial Review

Chris Berg

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