Australia’s international competitiveness has collapsed since the turn of the century contributing to the economy’s rate of growth falling below potential. Traditionally measured by the real exchange rate, competitiveness can also be gauged in other ways, including the relative prices of non-tradables to tradables, which reflects resource allocation away from the tradable sector of the economy to the non-tradable sector, as well as the World Economic Forum approach. Taken together, these measures have exhibited the same dramatic slide over recent years. The seminar will address theoretical aspects of competitiveness and the economic policy responses they imply.

Tony Makin is Professor of Economics and Director of the APEC Study Centre at Griffith University, and has previously served with the International Monetary Fund and in the federal departments of Finance and Treasury. He has a PhD from The Australian National University, and has published widely on Australian and international macroeconomic policy issues, many with an Asia-Pacific focus. He teaches international economics, macroeconomics and government budgeting, and his current research interests are fiscal and monetary policy, budget deficits, interest rates, exchange rates, competitiveness, foreign investment and APEC.

This seminar is sponsored by the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.

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