ABSTRACT
Australia’s experience of globalisation has many positive elements, but involves challenges, both of which are reviewed here. The focus of this paper is the period since the 1970s, where a significant shift out of an era of protection begins with a policy of significant tariff cuts in 1973. The drivers that led to this policy shift are reviewed. Detail is provided on the evolution of Australian policy with respect to the movement across borders of goods, services, capital, and people. The broader context of microeconomic and macroeconomic reform is discussed and its relevance explained. Consequences of these changes in terms of structural change (including labour market adjustment), productivity, and incomes are identified. The chapter reviews some of the policy lessons from this experience and the elements of the future reform agenda. Some of the lessons include the value of starting reform with external liberalisation, the relevance of an incremental approach, the value of proceeding unilaterally and the relevance of institutional reform, the pursuit of which is an enduring legacy of political leadership. Issues at the border remain, but the Australian agenda also includes further attention to a number of domestic institutions.
