Australia's economic history is the story of the transformation of an indigenous economy and a small convict settlement into a nation of nearly 23 million people with advanced economic, social and political structures. It is a history of vast lands with rich, exploitable resources, of adversity in war, and of prosperity and nation building. It is also a history of human behaviour and the institutions created to harness and govern human endeavour.
This account provides a systematic and comprehensive treatment of the nation's economic foundations, growth, resilience and future, in an engaging, contemporary narrative. It examines key themes such as the centrality of land and its usage, the role of migrant human capital, the tension between development and the environment, and Australia's interaction with the international economy.
Written by a team of eminent economic historians, The Cambridge Economic History of Australia is the definitive study of Australia's economic past and present.
Introduction Simon Ville and Glenn Withers; Part I. Framework: 1. The historiography of Australian economic history William Coleman; 2. Economic growth and its drivers since European settlement Jakob Madsen; 3. Analytical frameworks of economic history Chris Lloyd; Part II. Transition: 4. The Aboriginal legacy Boyd Hunter; 5. The convict economy Debbie Oxley and David Meredith; Part III. Economic Expansion of the Colonies: 6. Technological change Gary Magee; 7. Industrialising Australia's natural capital David Greasley; 8. Labour, skills and migration Andrew Seltzer; 9. Colonial enterprise Simon Ville; 10. Infrastructure and colonial socialism Jonathan Pincus and Henry Ergas; 11. Urbanisation Lionel Frost; Part IV. A National Economy: 12. Capital markets Rodney Maddock; 13. Manufacturing Diane Hutchinson; 14. Big business and foreign firms David Merrett; 15. Government and the evolution of public policy John Wilson; 16. The labour market Tim Hatton and Glenn Withers; 17. The service economy Monica Keneley; Part V. Building the Modern Economy: 18. Reorientation of trade, investment, migration Richard Pomfret; 19. Microeconomic reform Jeff Borland; 20. The evolution of macroeconomic strategy Mike Keating; Part VI. Looking Backwards and to the Future: 21. A statistical narrative: Australia 1800-2010 Matthew Butlin, Robert Dixon and Peter Lloyd; 22. Wealth and welfare Martin Shanahan; 23. Property right regimes and their environmental impacts Edwyna Harris; 24. Refiguring indigenous economies: a 21st century perspective John Altman and Nicholas Biddle; Appendix Matthew Butlin, Robert Dixon and Peter Lloyd.
Simon Ville is Professor of Economic and Business History, and the Head of the School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, in the Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts at the University of Wollongong. Glenn Withers is Professor of Economics in the Arndt-Corden Economics Department, Crawford School at the Australian National University.
