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From the Tyranny of Distance to the Power of Proximity: Can Australian Workers Trade up in the Lucky Country?: The 2011 Stan Kelly Lecture, 10 November 2011

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

Tim Harcourt
Tim Harcourt*
Affiliation:
UNSW, formerly Chief Economist, Australian Trade Commission
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Extract

Imagine a country that is inward looking and rarely notices the world beyond its own borders. Imagine a country with double-digit inflation and unemployment and a poor record of economic growth. Workers and their bosses are at each other’s throats, the country leads the world for working days lost due to industrial disputes and productivity (and how to improve it) is rarely talked about. Industry shelters behind prohibitive tariff walls (thinking only of the domestic market), the exchange rate is fixed every morning by officials of the central bank and the Treasury and international trade is an afterthought. Shop hours are regulated, domestic monopolies run most industries, and foreign entrants (in areas such as banking) are prohibited. Tax is high (and therefore evaded and avoided); expenditure untargeted and budgets in deficit. There are few foreign tourists, or many foreign students on university campuses. There are few restaurants around and licensing laws are restrictive. This country is at the bottom of the global premiership table in terms of economic performance despite its bountiful wealth.

Type
Non-Refereed Article
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 23 , Issue 1: Carbon Markets: Inherent Limitations and Complementary Policies , February 2012 , pp. 161 - 172
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2012

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