Responding to Shocks: Australia's Institutions and Policies

The current economic crisis has taught another generation of Australians that their economy remains vulnerable to negative external shocks, as it has been since the depression of the early 1840s. So it is unsurprising that shocks and crises figure prominently in the economic history literature, with most attention given the depressions of the 1890s and 1930s. Less attention has been given to other negative shocks, or to a comparative treatment of shocks. In particular, the implications for long-run prosperity resulting from the policy responses to shocks have not received the scrutiny given their short run consequences.