The papers in this volume were commissioned with the aim of exploring the significant structural changes in the financial system over the past decade or so and the implications for policy-makers charged with the responsibility of maintaining financial system stability

Australia's external trade is relatively low compared with the size of its economy. Indeed, Australia's openness ratio (exports plus imports as a proportion of GDP) in 2002 was the third-lowest among the 30 OECD countries. This paper seeks to understand Australia's low openness by analysing the...