MrMatthew Crocker

Matt is an economist with a deep understanding of central banking and how governments finance their spending. He is passionate about communicating his knowledge of how Australia's monetary system works and is eager to collaborate or provide his perspective on the likely effects of a government or central bank decision.

In 2025 he won Deakin University's 3 Minute Thesis competition where PhD students compete to summarise their research in 3 minutes. He has since shared his expertise on one of Deakin's podcasts.

Areas of expertise:

• Central banking operations
• Government spending mechanisms and debt financing
• Interbank payment settlement systems

His article in The Conversation, "What if the Reserve Bank itself has been feeding inflation? An economist explains" (April 2024), sheds light on the operational reality of how central banks seek to control inflation and brings readers' attention to some of the consequences of increasing interest rates. This provocative analysis exemplifies Matt's ability to provide fresh, newsworthy perspectives on complex economic issues.

Matt has recently completed his PhD that explored the history of money in Australia and he has plans to turn it into a commercially attractive book. His goal is to bring clarity to how the Australian government finances its spending, and in doing so better identify the limits faced by governments.

Matt welcomes the opportunity to provide expert commentary on:

• Current inflationary trends and central bank responses
• The sustainability of government debt
• The mechanics of government spending and its economic impacts
• History of monetary policy in Australia