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What Happened to Australia's Productivity Surge?

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  • Ben Dolman

Abstract

Australia's productivity has grown 1 percentage point per year slower in the current decade than in the 1990s. This article shows that almost one‐half of the slowdown is related to unusual developments in the mining industry, the effects of drought and the overstatement of productivity growth in the 1990s. Part of the remainder might be as a result of a combination of slower technological change, unmeasured declines in labour quality, the diminishing effects of past reforms and the increasing profitability of Australian firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Ben Dolman, 2009. "What Happened to Australia's Productivity Surge?," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 42(3), pages 243-263, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ausecr:v:42:y:2009:i:3:p:243-263
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8462.2009.00556.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Will Chancellor, 2023. "Exploring the relationship between information and communication technology (ICT) and productivity: Evidence from Australian farms," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 67(2), pages 285-302, April.
    3. Grace Taylor & Rod Tyers, 2017. "Secular Stagnation: Determinants and Consequences for Australia," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 93(303), pages 615-650, December.
    4. Nopphawan Photphisutthiphong & Mark Weder, 2016. "Observations on the Australian Business Cycle," Journal of Business Cycle Research, Springer;Centre for International Research on Economic Tendency Surveys (CIRET), vol. 12(2), pages 141-164, December.
    5. Shahiduzzaman, Md. & Alam, Khorshed, 2014. "Information technology and its changing roles to economic growth and productivity in Australia," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 125-135.
    6. Patrick D’Arcy & Linus Gustafsson, 2012. "Australia’s Productivity Performance and Real Incomes," RBA Bulletin (Print copy discontinued), Reserve Bank of Australia, pages 23-36, June.
    7. Dean Parham, 2013. "Australia's Productivity: Past, Present and Future," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 46(4), pages 462-472, December.
    8. Christine Carmody, 2013. "Slowing Productivity Growth - A developed economy," Economic Roundup, The Treasury, Australian Government, issue 2, pages 57-78, December.
    9. Md Shahiduzzaman & Allan Layton & Khorshed Alam, 2015. "On the contribution of information and communication technology to productivity growth in Australia," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 281-304, November.

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