Examining Dutch disease across Australian regions

The recent mining boom represents one of the largest external shocks to the Australian economy in its post‐war history. Although most agree that it had a positive effect on the Australian economy as well as on people’s living standards, there is disagreement over the extent to which this boom has caused deindustrialisation and the so‐called Dutch disease in Australia. Our empirical findings support the presence of Dutch disease nationally for Australia using data for the period 1984–2013. Regionally, the results show that Dutch disease was concentrated mainly in the eastern and southern states of Australia—Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania.     

Demand for fish in Asia: a cross‐country analysis*

Fish demand patterns in nine Asian countries were investigated using a multistage budgeting framework allowing a disaggregated approach to analysing fish consumption. This paper highlights the heterogeneity of fisheries products in terms of species, sources and cultural responses of consumers, factors that are important in fish demand under the Asian setting. Specifically, fish demand by income groups were compared to determine how the low‐ and high‐income households respond to price and income changes. Results showed that the estimated price and income elasticities of all fish types included in the study were relatively more elastic among the poorer households.     

Post-Conflict tourism development in Sri Lanka: implications for building resilience

The 30?year war between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had a considerable impact on the country's tourism industry. Yet, despite the war, the industry continued to exhibit a high level of resilience and since the end of the war international visitation has increased rapidly. This study, using a comprehensive review of literature and a series of interviews, examines the impact of the war on the industry as well as the government's post-conflict responses. Despite the rapid increase in international tourism numbers various concerns have been raised that government policies are likely to advantage large tourism operators and developers at the expense of small businesses in the informal sector. The development of the industry may also be at the expense of livelihoods of poorer members of society in other industries. A concentration on large-scale developments may reduce the resilience and therefore sustainability of the industry.