Global financial conditions have improved significantly since the previous Financial Stability Review, despite the new uncertainty created by the proposed sovereign bailout for Cyprus in the past few weeks. Some earlier European policy initiatives had been seen as demonstrating a strong commitment to deal with the region’s sovereign debt and banking sector problems while maintaining...

This paper examines the resource economy, including both resource extraction and value added of industries that provide inputs to resource extraction and investment, such as business services, construction, transport and manufacturing.

The recent Global Financial Crisis has generated more cautious spending amongst Australians with many now prefering to pay off home loans and mortgages and focussing more on saving rather than spending. In the period since the previous Financial Stability Review, global financial conditions have evolved in two distinct phases. The sovereign debt problems in the...

Australia’s macroeconomic performance during the decade was much more stable than during the earlier mining booms, reflecting a stronger institutional framework.

Labour market outcomes in regional areas of Australia have followed broadly similar trends to those in capital cities over the past two decades. The range of unemployment rates across the regions narrowed through the 2000s, as the benefits of economic growth were spread broadly across the country. Nonetheless, there are still some notable differences between...