The scars of recessions run deep for NAB's Alan Oster
Alan Oster has been NAB's chief economist since 1992. His experiences in the 1980s led him to believe that we should never take recessions lightly.
After more than four decades as an economist, Alan Oster is not especially surprised by political spats, financial crises or the pain the public faces when economic stewards get it wrong.
The NAB chief economist has a wry sense of humour about the turbulence he has seen in the economy and, in particular, how it collides with politics. But when talking about managing recessions, his amusement drops.
Oster has a deep aversion to recessions and their impact on everyday Australians. He knows that when recessions are not avoided or handled well they lead to deep scarring. This includes job losses that can be hard for people to recover from in the long term.
“The reason I want to be an economist and I want to help is because I want my kids to have a job. That’s basically it,” he says. His children are, today, in their 30s.
