The Australian Growth Experience, 1960–2000: Human Capital,R&D or Steady‐State Growth?

This article examines the sources of economic growth in Australia from 1960 to 2000 by adapting a framework developed in Jones (2002), whereby long‐run growth is driven by the global discovery of new ideas, which in turn is tied to world population growth. We find that, contrary to the conventional view as suggested by sustained growth rates and a stable capital–output ratio over the last several decades, Australia is clearly not on its steady–state balanced growth path. Australia has benefited from increases in educational attainment and research intensity: 42 per cent of Australian growth between 1960 and 2000 is attributable to the rise in educational attainment, about 20 to 40 per cent is attributable to increasing research intensity, while only 10 to 30 per cent is due to long‐run population growth in the idea‐producing countries.