The two-speed Australian economy - The decline of Sydney's labour market

People and Place

Volumn 14, Issue 4, 2006, Pages 14-24

  Mitchell, William ^a   Bill, Anthea ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE   (Australia)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

DEBT; ECONOMIC ACTIVITY; ECONOMIC INSTABILITY; INFLATION; INTEREST RATE; LABOR MARKET; TERMS OF TRADE; UNEMPLOYMENT;

AUSTRALASIA; AUSTRALIA; NEW SOUTH WALES; SYDNEY;

EID: 33846938109     PISSN: 10394788     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (31)

1. For an explanation of the impact of fiscal drag on the Australian economy, see W. F. Mitchell and W.B. Mosler, 'Understanding the economic fallacies of the intergenerational debate', Australian Journal of Social Issues, vol. 41, no. 2, 2006, pp. 159-170.
2. 'The Dutch disease', The Economist, 28 November 1977, pp. 82-83
3. R. G. Gregory, 'Some implications of the growth of the mineral sector', Australian Journal of Agricultural Economics, vol. 20, 1976, pp. 71-91
4. Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), Bulletin Database, September 2006
5. Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Labour Force Survey, Employed Persons by Region, Sex, Industry Division data cube
6. ibid.
7. Australian Industry Group and PricewaterhouseCoopers, Performance of Manufacturing Index, July 2006
8. RBA, op. cit.
9. Austrade-DHL Export Barometer - Australian Export Trends, November 2005, available at
10. R. Gregory and B. Hunter 'The macro economy and the growth of ghettos and urban poverty in Australia', Centre for Economic Policy Research Discussion Paper 325, Australian National University, Canberra, 1995
11. Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE) 'Quarterly unemployment and total labour underutilisation - by state', Centre of Full Employment and Equity Labour Market Indicators, August 2006
12. ABS, op. cit.
13. J. Gamaut and M. Wade, 'Jobs hit as opportunity knocks elsewhere', Sydney Morning Herald, 19 May 2006
14. ABS, House Price Indexes: Eight Capital Cities, catalogue no. 6416.0, March 2006, Table 7
15. ABS, Housing Occupancy and Costs, catalogue no. 4130.0.55.001, 2003-04
16. RBA Bulletin Database, September 2006
17. Australian Senate, Consenting adults deficits and household debt, Economics Reference Committee, Tabled 13 October 2005
18. Mitchell and Mosler, 2006, op. cit.
19. RBA Bulletin Database, September 2006.
20. See also M. Wade 'Soaring debt burden adds to rate rise pain', Sydney Morning Herald, 1 August 2006
21. RBA Bulletin Database, op. cit.
22. In February 2001, the RBA Statement of Monetary Policy (p. 20) said 'the rapid increase does pose the risk of some households becoming overstretched, particularly if the level of borrowing were to continue growing at the rates seen in the past couple of years'. Prior to this point, the RBA failed to acknowledge household debt as a growing problem.
23. See also I.J. Macfarlane, Opening Statement to House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, Finance and Public Administration, 17 February 2006.
24. R. Battellino, 'Developments in Australian retail finance', address to Retail Financial Services Forum, Sydney 22 August 2006.
25. See also G. La Cava and J. Simon, 'A tale of two surveys: household debt and financial constraints in Australia', Research Discussion Paper 2003-08, Economics Research Group, Reserve Bank of Australia, Sydney.
26. See also L. Ellis, J. Lawson and L. Roberts-Thompson, 'Housing leverage in Australia, research discussion paper 2003-09', Economics Group, Reserve Bank of Australia, Sydney.
27. W.F. Mitchell and L. Reedman, L., 'Fiscal policy and financial fragility: why macroeconomic policy is failing', in E. Carlson (Ed) The Path to Full Employment, Proceedings of the 4th Path to Full Employment Conference/9th National Conference on Unemployment, University of Newcastle, 4-6 December 2002, pp. 167-178
28. K-A. Walsh and M. Singer, 'Left with an empty feeling', Sydney Morning Herald, 10 September 2006
29. Derived from data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics Australia (HILDA) survey, Wave 2, 2002
30. La Cava and Simon, op. cit.
31. HILDA, Wave 2, 2002. This understates the burden on those who hold the debt. While it is often argued that around 30 per cent of households actually hold debt, the reality is that their spending impacts on the wider economy.