An introduction to the Australian economy

ing from the impact of rapid population growth, Australia’s economic growth rate was actually significantly below the OECD average during the 1950s and 1960s. As with the United States, this partly reflects the fact that Australia suffered comparatively little physical destruction during World War II, so that post-war economic growth was not driven by reconstruction and ‘catch-up’ was the case for Western Europe and Japan. As noted earlier, however, it also reflects Australia’s ‘opting out’ of the post-war liberalization of trade in manufactured goods in the decades following the end of World War II. 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 1951-6