We urge macroeconomists to abandon the 'natural rate' as an analytical device on the ground that it has become a source of great and growing confusion. But we press them to recognise that it has great potential as a policy tool provided we grasp the central idea of a hypothetical unemployment...

This paper tests the weak and semistrong forms of the efficient-markets hypothesis using data on the Australian share market in the 1980s. The tests are based on aggregate share price indexes and the semistrong efficiency tests use macroeconomic data. The weak-form tests examine the...

This paper reports the results of an empirical investigation of hysteresis in the unemployment rate using Australian data for 1966(3)-88(4). It is found that there is not hysteresis in the strict sense of the irrelevance of the natural unemployment rate although there is strong evidence of...

Australia is a recipient of large foreign direct investment (FDI) flows by world standards. Despite this, there is little empirical work on the determinants of FDI in Australia. We carry out an econometric analysis of the determinants of aggregate FDI inflows into Australia since the mid-1980s....

The natural rate of unemployment is calculated based on D. M. Lilien's (1982) notion that an increase in the sectoral dispersion of demand results in a rise in unemployment for a given level of aggregate demand. In contrast to earlier applications, the dispersion measure is based on sectoral...