I. Pre-reading task

Unit 5.4. Economy of Australia

VIII. Answer the following questions. Write a short essay

VII. Translate into English

1. Один из самых продолжительных споров в истории американской экономики посвящен роли частного и общественного сектора. 2. Система свободного предпринимательства в США делает особый акцент на частную собственность. 3. Роль потребителя настолько значительна, что экономику США часто характеризуют как «консумеристская экономика». 4. Правительство США главным образом ответственно за управление правоохранительной системой, образование и национальную оборону. 5. Правительство США занимается решением проблем, не подвластных силам рынка. 6. Правительство США оплачивает стоимость медицинских услуг пожилым и малоимущим гражданам. 7. Правительство США предоставляет недорогие кредиты людям, которые испытали потери в результате стихийных бедствий. 8. Население США переместилось с ферм в города, с полей на заводы, с производства в сферу обслуживания. 9. По мере усложнения экономики статистика показывает, что в течение последнего столетия сохраняется тенденция перехода от мелкого предпринимательства к работе по найму.

1. What aspects of the USA economy are similar to our economy?

2. What is different from our economy?

3. What problems are similar?

4. Can we learn from the American experience?

5. Can Americans learn from our experience?

Suggest an idea for reading the text. Do you think Australia is a highly-developed country?

II. Read the text to fulfil the tasks

Australia has a prosperous Western-style capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP at the level of the dominant West European economies. Its developed market economy is dominated by its services sector (65% of GDP). It also has developed agricultural and mining sectors (7% of GDP combined). Australia is rich in natural resources and is a major exporter of agricultural products, minerals, metals, and fossil fuels. Commodities account for 57% of the value of total exports, so that a downturn in world commodity prices can have a big impact on the economy. The Government is trying to increase exports of manufactured goods, but competition in international markets continues to be severe. Australia's comparative advantage in primary products is a reflection of the natural wealth of the Australian Continent and its small domestic market — 19 million people occupy a continent the size of the United States. The relative size of the manufacturing sector has been declining for several decades, and now accounts for just under 12 percent of GDP.

Australia started a basic reorientation of its economy more than 20 years ago and has transformed itself from an inward looking, import-substitution country to an internationally competitive, export-oriented one. Key reforms include unilaterally reducing high tariffs and other protective barriers; floating the Australian dollar exchange rate; deregulating the financial services sector, including a decision in late 1992 to allow liberal access for foreign bank branches; rationalizing and reducing the number of trade unions; better integrating the State economies into a national federal system; improving and standardizing the national infrastructure; and privatizing many government-owned services and public utilities.

The ultimate goal for Australia is to become a competitive producer and exporter, not just of traditional farm and mineral commodities, but of a diversified mix of manufactured products, services, and technologies. While progress has been made on this economic reform agenda, such as in opening the telecommunications market to competition, much remains to be done, particularly in the domestic arena.

Australia has continued to prosper during the years of 2001—2012. It has done so by continuing to privatize industries and by relying on increasing domestic consumption and Chinese demand for resources. The state of Western Australia in particular has benefited from the resources boom caused by China, with its economy growing at an annualized rate of 7.5% during 2010. The national economy, however, has been growing at an average rate of just above 3 % a year. New economic problems come from a trade deficit caused by increasing amounts of cheap Chinese imports and overspending by Australian consumers.

 

 

GDP purchasing power parity — $571.4 billion (2012 est.)
GDP — real growth rate 3% (2012 est.)
GDP — per capita $29,000 (2012 est.)
GDP — composition by sector: purchasing power parity — agriculture 3.5%
Industry 26.3%
Services 70.2% (2012 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.8% (2012 est.)
Labour force: 10.19 million (2012 est.)
Labour force — by occupation: (1997 est.) services 73% industry 22% agriculture 5%
Unemployment rate: Budget: revenues: expenditures: 6% (2012 est.) $185 billion $181 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2012 est.)
Industries mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel
Industrial production growth rate -0.1% (2012 est.)
Electricity — production by source: fossil fuel hydro nuclear: 89.85% 8.35% 0%
Agriculture — products wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle, sheep, poultry
Exports — partners: Japan 18.1%, US 8.7%, China 8.4%, South Korea 7.4%, New Zealand 7.4%, UK 6.7% (2012)
Exports: $58 billion (f.o.b., 2012 est.) Exports — commodities coal, gold, meat, wool, aluminum, iron ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment
Imports: $82.91 billion (2012 est.) Imports:machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products
Imports — partners: US 16%, Japan 12.5%, China 11% Germany 6.1%, UK 4.2% (2003)
Currency: 1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Australian dollars per US dollar -1.5419 (2010), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000), 1.55 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997), 1.273 (1996), 1.3486 (1995)

 

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