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A Re-examination of the Determinants of Australia’s Imports

Author

Listed:
  • Jacqueline Dwyer

    (Reserve Bank of Australia)

  • Christopher Kent

    (Reserve Bank of Australia)

Abstract

The trend rise in import penetration in Australia has renewed interest in the determinants of import volumes. In this paper, an attempt is made to explain the growth in Australia’s imports in terms of the increased openness of the economy. Openness is proxied by the effective rate of protection. It is found that whilst reductions in protection do not help explain the growth in aggregate imports, they do explain a substantial share of the growth in imports of consumption and intermediate goods. This is said to reflect the impact of reductions in protection on both the demand for imports and the domestic supply of import substitutes.

Suggested Citation

  • Jacqueline Dwyer & Christopher Kent, 1993. "A Re-examination of the Determinants of Australia’s Imports," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp9312, Reserve Bank of Australia.
  • Handle: RePEc:rba:rbardp:rdp9312
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. David Gruen & Geoffrey Shuetrim, 1994. "Internationalisation and the Macroeconomy," RBA Annual Conference Volume (Discontinued), in: Philip Lowe & Jacqueline Dwyer (ed.),International Intergration of the Australian Economy, Reserve Bank of Australia.
    2. Jacqueline Dwyer & Christine Groeger, 1994. "Resource Flows to the Traded Goods Sector," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp9401, Reserve Bank of Australia.
    3. Palle Andersen & David Gruen, 1995. "Macroeconomic Policies and Growth," RBA Annual Conference Volume (Discontinued), in: Palle Andersen & Jacqueline Dwyer & David Gruen (ed.),Productivity and Growth, Reserve Bank of Australia.
    4. Paflioti, Persa & Vitsounis, Thomas K. & Teye, Collins & Bell, Michael G.H. & Tsamourgelis, Ioannis, 2017. "Box dynamics: A sectoral approach to analyse containerized port throughput interdependencies," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 396-413.
    5. David Gruen, 1997. "Discussion of 'Financial-asset Prices and Monetary Policy: Theory and Evidence'," RBA Annual Conference Volume (Discontinued), in: Philip Lowe (ed.),Monetary Policy and Inflation Targeting, Reserve Bank of Australia.

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