Why australia prospered

McLean makes much of this historical dialectic, more so than the orthodox telling.? This applies most especially to his interpretation of Australia? Most economists regard this episode as the triumph of vested interests over rational economic policy.?

Yet, in McLean? This is the only respect in which McLean? Ian McLean has written a timely and masterful account of the long sweep of Australia?

Written for the non-specialist, the narrative is accessible, brisk and appropriately, if sparsely, illustrated with charts and tables.? There is an extensive bibliography and index. His latest book, Economics for Life Acorn Press, , includes a chapter on Australian economic history.? Email correspondence should be sent to iaharper deloitte. Copyright c by EH. Download all slides. Sign in Don't already have an Oxford Academic account?

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This article is also available for rental through DeepDyve. Why Australia Prospered deserves a wide audience. It would be a suitable text for undergraduate use, while giving postgraduate students and established scholars plenty to think about.

McLean is a meticulous analyst and a calm judge, comfortable with unorthodoxy and big turning points if that is where the evidence leads. Most important of all is McLean's impressive use of the comparative approach. While the book's focus is on natural resources and institutions, the author provides stimulating interpretations of many phases of economic history.

The book is targeted at a broad audience, and to this end, MacLean interweaves historical narrative with analysis. Its chronological presentation allows some refreshing perspectives on events, and theoretical and policy debates, all of which are informed by the deep scholarship that the author demonstrates. Most important of all is McLean's impressive use of the comparative approach. While arguing that Australia's path of development has been strongly shaped by international influences-immigration, investment, trade, and political institutions- he interrogates closely its performance relative to that of other specific nations to tease out national differences as well.

These are appropriately selected in most cases: the role of differences in land ownership patterns and political institutions with Argentina, or the greater connection of Canada's timber and grain industries to manufacturing than Australia's wool and mining.

However, New Zealand might have featured more strongly in the comparative story. Business Commons.