mining - Economics Students Society of Australia

mining

A collection of 15 posts

Australia and the GFC: a pair of star-crossed lovers

Australia and the GFC: a pair of star-crossed lovers

Australia, a few key themes tend to spring up: success, the theories of John Maynard Keynes, and increased production. A bit of context is in order. Firstly, Australia successfully avoided a recession during one of the most impactful global crises in decades. Secondly, John Maynard Keynes is the mind behind

Out with the Mining in with the...?

Out with the Mining in with the...?

Before the 19th century, Australia’s economic output was made up mostly of sectors involved in basic necessities, such as food, leather and domestic items, with the government acting as the primary producer and consumer. It was only in response to the gold mining boom and growth in the wool

Economic complexity & Australia’s troubling economic outlook

Australia's economy: then and now

Economic complexity & Australia’s troubling economic outlook

What is the economic outlook for Australia? It’s the kind of question that gets thrown about often in the halls of Parliament House, at business council functions, or over golf-tees between retirees. Historically, the answer to this question has relied on macroeconomic modelling, some econometric work, and a good

Falling Commodity Prices: Riding the Rollercoaster

Australia's economy: then and now

Falling Commodity Prices: Riding the Rollercoaster

In recent years, the Australian economy has been the beneficiary of strong global demand for commodities and the correspondingly high terms of trade (TOT). Since then, sluggish global demand conditions alongside the transition within the mining sector from the investment to production phase has mismatched supply and demand and translated

The story of the real Australian economy: Part 2 – Australia’s house of cards

The story of the real Australian economy: Part 2 – Australia’s house of cards

In my previous article, I outlined the economic conditions Australia faces as the mining investment boom reaches its end, and how strong headline indicators mask deeper structural issues with the economy. I will now take a thorough look into what these issues are and what factors are contributing to Australia’

The story of the real Australian economy

australian economy

The story of the real Australian economy

In a four part series titled ‘The Story of the Real Australian Economy’, Benjamin Wee seeks to tell the narrative of Australia’s current economic position and the issues facing the country in a seemingly uncertain future. The series will analyse the structural makeup of the economy and the detail

Will mining investment fall off a cliff?

Will mining investment fall off a cliff?

This article was featured as part of Equilibrium 2013, our annual print publication. Soft landing for mining? Many commentators have expressed a relatively sanguine view about the likely course of mining investment over 2014. For example, in its most recent Statement on Monetary Policy, the Reserve Bank wrote that “… given

Top Ten Tweets: your Q& A digest in 140 characters or less

Top Ten Tweets: your Q& A digest in 140 characters or less

John Daley at #essaqanda: the govt got a massive free kick with the #miningboom and almost none of it was saved pic.twitter.com/CMonIN7Sul — James Wong (@james_wong) September 3, 2013 ESSA’s night of nights kicks off with a discussion on the topic of “Post Mining Boom”: where

The economics behind China’s rare earths restriction

The economics behind China’s rare earths restriction

Rare earth metals are versatile elements which are central to the modern era and future technological advances. We commonly recognize their existence through use in things such as iPads, plasma TVs and solar panels. Yet it also has a wide range of applications in other sectors such as industrial/manufacturing

The end of good times? The mining boom re-examined

The end of good times? The mining boom re-examined

This article is one of two Q&A specials informing the reader on a topic of economic importance to Australia that was discussed by the panel on the night. In the past few years Australia has experienced one of the longest and largest increases in the value of the mining

Neville Norman: ESSA Q&A Topics

Neville Norman: ESSA Q&A Topics

Australia after the mining boom: what next? To answer this question, the first thing is to get the descriptions right: The ‘mining boom’ is still going and will be for a long time yet. It was mainly a boom in commodity prices and profits by value, not huge growth in

Economic zoning – the way forward for Australian prosperity?

Economic zoning – the way forward for Australian prosperity?

This article forms part of an ongoing series looking at economic issues as Australia heads into the Federal Election. More coverage can be found on the Election 2013 page of ESSA’s website. We are now in the second week of Australia’s (seemingly eternal) election campaign. One of the

Gina Rinehart tells big fat porkie-pies about struggling miners

Gina Rinehart tells big fat porkie-pies about struggling miners

Gina Rinehart, Australia’s richest and most mendacious mining magnate, spoke to the Australian Miners and Metals Conference last week. In her speech, she accused the greedy government of treating the mining sector like an ATM. When she wasn’t throwing stones in glass houses, Gina was arguing that Australians

West Papua - Genocide and Economic Marginalisation

australian politics

West Papua - Genocide and Economic Marginalisation

Just some 300km north of our borders human rights violations are being committed on a vast scale. Torture, rape, extrajudicial killings, false imprisonment, and violent suppression of peaceful demonstrations are happening en masse, and it’s all being carried out in West Papua – one of Australia’s closest neighbours. There