The sad story of Argentina since the end of World War II is a timely reminder that rich nations, if badly managed, can become poor ones. Will Australia follow Argentina's path from riches to rags? Twenty years ago few Australians would have given the idea serious attention. But for 20 years Australians have accepted the case for economic restructuring, only to find it almost beyond them to make it happen. No other society has such a similar economic history with Australia; Australians can ill afford to ignore the lessons of the Argentine tragedy.

The sad story of Argentina since the end of World War II is a timely reminder that rich nations, if badly managed, can become poor ones. Will Australia follow Argentina's path from riches to rags? Twenty years ago few Australians would have given the idea serious attention. But for 20 years Australians have accepted the case for economic restructuring, only to find it almost beyond them to make it happen. No other society has such a similar economic history with Australia; Australians can ill afford to ignore the lessons of the Argentine tragedy.

Originally published in 1964, this book presents a study of domestic capital formation in Australia from 1860 to 1900, a period of vigorous economic expansion. The text is divided into four main parts: the first discusses the conditions of Australian economic growth; the second is a historical analysis of private investment; the third studies investment in communications in relation to the public sector; the fourth investigates structural readjustment in the light of the end of expansion. Illustrative figures and numerous tables are also included. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Australian history and the development of the Australian economy.

A single volume discussing economic, social, and political history of Argentina since independence.

In the early part of this century, Argentina was one of the most affluent nations in the world. Since then, the Argentine economy has experienced long periods of stagnation and recession. Larry Sawers links the country's economic failure to the backwardness of the interior, which comprises 70 percent of the area of the country and in which nearly one-third of the population resides.The interior's poverty, according to Sawers, is caused by the scarcity of agricultural resources and by serious inequalities in the distribution of those resources. The region is poorly endowed, land has been degraded through abuse and overuse, and most farmers work tiny, unproductive plots. Moreover, most of the products of the interior are produced for highly protected domestic markets and face stiff competition and falling prices in world markets. Recent reforms in Argentina have dramatically aggravated the economic crisis of the interior.Sawers shows how the poverty of the interior has contributed to the dismal performance of the Argentine economy as a whole. He emphasizes the deleterious effects of extensive emigration from the interior to the major urban areas that are unable to absorb the human tide. Additionally, the national government has taxed the more prosperous regions in order to subsidize the interior, placing a severe drain on the federal government budget and worsening inflation. The effects of the interior's poverty on the nation are also political. Sawers argues that the backward political system in the interior exacerbates the worst features of the national political culture and governance, which in turn pose profound obstacles to economic progress.