Australia once wanted its allies to commit to full employment — what happened?
3 years, 5 months ago

Australia once wanted its allies to commit to full employment — what happened?

ABC  

I want to tell you a quick story. And when the war ended, his ideas were used to rebuild Australia's economy on a platform of "full employment" for peacetime. Many of those economists — such as LF Giblin, Leslie Melville, and HC "Nugget" Coombs — believed it was in Australia's interests for multiple countries to have full employment at once. As they saw it, Australia's exporters would benefit from trading with countries with full employment because the workers in those countries would have more disposable income to purchase Australian goods. However, the economic institutions that were eventually created to facilitate stable growth and trade in the post-war era — the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Bretton Woods system of exchange rates — didn't stop countries pursuing full employment anyway.

History of this topic

Economists want more unemployment. But do they care how the jobless will be treated?
1 year, 6 months ago
One unemployed person per vacant job: Has Australia finally hit full employment?
2 years, 5 months ago
Australia’s reservoir of workers is starting to run low and that might just get you a pay rise
3 years, 6 months ago
Reserve Bank and Treasury admit 'full employment' is not what they thought it was. And it's held the country back
3 years, 8 months ago
The COVID-19 pandemic helped unemployment figures, but spare capacity clouds Australia's future
3 years, 9 months ago
Why Australia isn't aiming for 'full employment' anymore
4 years, 2 months ago

Discover Related