Explaining Australia's Imports: 1974–1989*

Abstract

A model is estimated to explain Australia's demand for imports over the period from September 1974 to September 1989. Using cointegration techniques, it is found that growth in imports is well explained by movements in domestic activity, relative prices of imports and exports, and overtime. The models explain almost all of the rapid growth in imports over the period from September 1986 to September 1989. Over this period, the relative price of domestic goods to imports grew more strongly than domestic activity, and the contribution of relative prices to growth in imports is found to outweigh that of activity.