Human Capital Development and Industrial Sector Performance in Pre And Post Covid-19 Era: The Australian Experience

Abstract

The importance of the ravaging pandemic on human development and industrial sector performance cannot be overemphasized. This is because an improved and quality industrial output is a function of quality human resources. This study explicitly examined the effects of the ravaging pandemic on human development and industrial sector performance in Australia during pre and post COVID-19 era. Human development was measured with the Human Development Index (HDI), Inequality Adjusted HDI (IHDI), Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) and the Gender Development Index (GDI) while the Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) and the Industry Value Added (IVA) were used to capture the trend in Australia’s industrial sector performance during pre and post COVID-19 era. Data were sourced from Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the United Nations Development (UNDP) Report and World Bank indicators. The study findings revealed, amongst others, that human quality was better off before the pandemic than after it and this was explicitly reflected in the country’s industrial output, as a better performance was recorded before the pandemic than after it. Australia, like China, needs more aggressive net zero CO2 emission policies including those relating human development to industrial output. Aggressive export diversification would help her economy recover faster from the adverse effects of the ravaging pandemic through effective and efficient utilization of her renewable energy sources.