Gittins' Guide to Economics

Contents......Page 5
Preface......Page 7
Abbreviations......Page 8
1 Money isn\'t what it\'s all about......Page 11
2 How the economy works......Page 15
3 It all gets down to scarcity......Page 20
4 Economists\' obsession with prices......Page 23
5 How the labour market works......Page 29
6 Reform of the labour market......Page 33
7 The labour market\'s changing future......Page 39
8 How interest rates affect demand and inflation......Page 45
9 How the Reserve Bank influences interest rates......Page 49
10 Real interest rates and expected inflation......Page 54
11 The dollar goes up as well as down......Page 58
12 Market failure and government failure......Page 67
13 How globalisation is helping poor countries......Page 75
14 The pros and cons of financial globalisation......Page 80
15 The World Trade Organisation\'s Doha round......Page 85
16 Transnational corporations\' size is exaggerated......Page 90
17 The rise of China......Page 94
18 Composition and direction of our exports......Page 101
19 Australia\'s growing investment abroad......Page 105
20 Why industry protection doesn\'t work......Page 109
21 How globalisation affects our economy......Page 113
22 The coming slowdown in economic growth......Page 123
23 Good news and bad on unemployment......Page 127
24 How we tamed inflation......Page 134
25 Why we worry less about the current account deficit......Page 139
26 The distribution of income......Page 144
27 Management of the environment......Page 148
28 Shocks to the economy......Page 155
29 Macro management and the business cycle......Page 160
30 The changed policy mix......Page 165
31 Fiscal policy versus monetary policy......Page 169
32 A different perspective on monetary policy......Page 173
33 Microeconomic reform and productivity improvement......Page 177
Index......Page 181