THE THIRD NOEL BUTLIN LECTURE: AUSTRALIAN EXCEPTIONALISM REVISITED

Abstract

In the late‐nineteenth century, Australia had one of the highest levels of income per capita in the world. Over the twentieth century, Australia's exceptional position declined as its high labour force participation rate and male‐skewed gender ratio gradually aligned with other countries. A similar reversion occurred in the other important components underlying Australia's high productivity, such as work hours. As the structure of the economy shifted away from a reliance on agricultural and towards manufacturing, Australia's protective attitude and restrictive business practices may have exacerbated its loss in productivity. Considerable research remains to be carried out to confirm these views.