The econometric technique of cointegration is used to model the aggregate demand for imports in Australia over the period from September 1974 to September 1989. We find that movements in total and endogenous imports are well explained by movements in domestic demand, the relative price of...

By international and historical standards, Australia does not appear to be under-capitalised. Nevertheless, the past decade has seen a clear reversal of the steady upward trend in capital intensity; this reversal was most marked after the short-lived increase in capital spending associated with...

The cost of capital is a potentially important determinant of business investment, yet there have been few attempts to provide an adequate measure of it. In this paper the importance of the cost of capital and weaknesses inherent in existing measures are discussed. A new series for the cost of...

In the second half of 1997 many Asian emerging economies suffered large declines in both their currency and equity markets. This Asian financial turmoil arose primarily from three interrelated sets of factors, namely: shortcomings in the financial sector at a time when global liquidity...

The twenty-fourth addition in a series of biographies of Australia’s Federal Treasurers.

Jim Cairns was the only academic economist to become Treasurer. But despite his qualifications, even his own assessment was that his tenure as Treasurer was unsuccessful. While a driving force behind the 1974 budget, he was Treasurer for only seven months and was one of only a handful of...

This book is an up-to-date, authoritative and comprehensive analysis of the key issues and challenges facing regional currency area projects in the context of financial globalization. The authors focus on several central issues that emerged during the experiences of the 1990s and 2000s: exchange...