ANU: Dutch Disease and Other Issues

Abstract

I arrived at the ANU from Oxford in 1977 and became head of the department in Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies (RSPAS) in 1980, when Heinz Arndt retired. I produced two significant articles on the new “Dutch Disease” issue, important not only for Australia but for developing countries, notably Indonesia. The joint article on this subject with Peter Neary had a high citation score. In addition, I wrote a survey article on this subject—“Booming Sector and Dutch Disease Economics: Survey and Consolidation”. The other, very controversial, issue in which I became involved was the effect in Australia of a wages boom possibly causing high unemployment. This was a serious issue involving a policy debate in which I participated. This chapter also contains essays about four influential ANU economics professors—Sir John Crawford, Trevor Swan, Heinz Arndt, and Fred Gruen. Sadly, in this period, Harry Johnson died at age 53. In 1986, I was on leave from the ANU to hold the Chair of Australian Studies at Harvard University.