1 a Tale of Two Jurisdictions
A Tale of Two Jurisdictions: A Focus on the Effect of Regulatory Constraints on Municipal Resilience in Australia Introduction Australia has long been lauded as one of the few advanced economies to escape recession subsequent to the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). Credit for Australia’s uninterrupted growth since the GFC has been variously ascribed to its strong banking system and robust regulatory agencies which existed prior to the GFC as well as the Commonwealth Government stimulus and bank deposit guarantee schemes initiated after the onset of the crisis (see, for instance Wittenhall 2011; Fenna, 2013). However, Australia was also the beneficiary of a steep rise in demand for commodities from its largest and fourth largest trading partners (China and India, respectively) in the post GFC period. Indeed, Day (2011, p. 23) has conducted empirical analysis to show that ‘had growth in export volumes to China been commensurate with pre- stimulus rates, Australia would have experienced three consecutive quarters of negative real GDP growth’. Less well recognised is the contribution of nett migration to the country – a comparison of the average nett migration for the seven years either side of the GFC reveals an increase of 169% peaking at 300 million in 2009 (Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 2014). An indication of the pervasive effect of migration on national growth is illustrated by the GDP per capita recording three consecutive quarters of negative growth between September 2008 and March 2009 (ABS, 2014). Thus, while the nation may have escaped a ‘technical recession’ it would be incorrect to conclude that individuals have not experienced fiscal stress.
[Show full text]