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The Australian Economy ‐ Thatcherism after 7 Years?
Author(s) -
BUDD ALAN
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
economic outlook
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.1
H-Index - 8
eISSN - 1468-0319
pISSN - 0140-489X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0319.1983.tb00527.x
Subject(s) - thatcherism , unemployment , inflation (cosmology) , economics , government (linguistics) , unemployment rate , inflation rate , keynesian economics , economic policy , political science , monetary policy , economic growth , law , linguistics , philosophy , physics , politics , theoretical physics
In March 1983 Mr Malcolm Fraser's Liberal Coalition was defeated in the Australian general election. He had held office for over 7years. His Government's record on economic management can be briefly summarised as follows. At the end of 1975 when the Liberal Coalition took office the inflation rate was 14 per cent and the rate of unemployment was 5.4 per cent; in March 1983 the inflation rate was 11.5 per cent and the rate of unemployment was 10.4 per cent. It is generally thought that Mr Fraser's policies were not unlike those of Mrs Thatcher. Since he had been operating them for over seven years it is reasonable to ask why the outcome appears to have been so disappointing. In this Briefing Paper we examine recent developments in the Australian economy and make some comparisons of policies and outcomes in Australia and Britain, particularly during the past four years, when there were conservative Governments in both countries.