Economic Analysis
NOTEBOOK II ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS guideline: general economic data that serve as a basis for an evaluation of the economic soundness of a country, and information on items that drive economic analysis. The reader may find the data collected for the economic analysis channels of distribution and media availability quite easy or very difficult, depending on their choice of country. As mentioned in the previous guideline this is more straightforward than for the cultural analysis, this guideline focuses only on broad categories of data and guidelines. There are two broad categories of information in this and must be adapted to particular company and product needs.
Executive Summary
Introduction
Australia has had a vibrant free-market that has tremendously improved over the years. This is despite some of the worst recession times that have hit the world over the last decades. Thus, its economy is largely supported by the abundance of natural resources that are available in the country. In addition to that, the ability of the Australian government towards provided the much needed democracy has allowed the market to perform freely without any interference. Further to that has been the independent bureaucracy that ensures a healthy entrepreneurial growth. Indeed almost all of the industries in Australia are open to foreign investors thereby making it an ideal international investment hub. It is noteworthy to indicate that despite the increased government debt that has increased just like in many other countries, Australia ensures that its debt is at its lowest (Roy, 2011).
According to Pagan and Wilcox (2015) Austria forms one of the richest Asia-Pacific countries that has seen it rise on the global economic map. In the same way, the nation has boosted of three important element s that have upheld its economy. These are a functional fiscal strategy, a robust macro economy sector and most importantly better financial regulations as set by the state bodies. Voyer et.al (2017) postulates that in 2012, Australia’s economic performance greatly affected the world’s GDP by a huge margin. For a case in point, the nation contributed 2.45 per cent of the world’s economy which translated to over 1520.60 billion US Dollars. However, the 2008 recession slowed down its economy but Australia picked up and has been growing by a rate of 14.3 per cent.
- Population
- Total
Australia’s current population has been stated to be at 24, 556,509 in October 2017. According to Pagan and Wilcox (2015) Australia the equivalence of the Australian population to that of the world stands at0.32 per cent. This translates towards the population density of 3 per squared kilometer. Just like many other developed nations, Australia’s 90 per cent population live in urban centers. In addition to that, the median age has been placed at 37.5 years.
- Growth rates
According to the World Bank (2017), Australia has been placed at 1.4 per cent in terms of the annual growth rates. This is such a huge number as compared to other nations such as India and USA that are placed at1.2 and 0.7 respectively. The increase in Australia’s annual growth has been related to two major components; natural increase in births and the continuous migration ventures. In 2016 Australia’s population stood at 24, 309, 330 however coming to 2017 there has been an increase of over 332, 332 in terms of the population change.
- Number of live births
According to ABS (2017), the rate of perinatal deaths stood at9.6 per 1,000 births. In addition to that there were 7.2 still births which occur within the 1,000 births. In terms of neonatal deaths the figures stand at 2.4 deaths per the 1,000 lives births. Another report by Verdonk, Wilkinson and Bruwer (2015), indicated that the number of lives births in Australia has continuously increased for the past five years. This is an improvement since in 2012 the number of births in the country stood at 3.4 per cent and 21.5 per cent in 2011 and 2003 respectively.
- Birthrates
The ABS (2017) has indicated that the fertility rates among the teenagers at its lowest in several years. This is despite the fact that the fertility rate among Australian women remaining steady. For instance in 2015, statistics indicate that there were 1.81 babies per woman. Conversely and coming to 2015, the number of births per mothers who are of 19 years and below reduced drastically (Rolfe et.al, 2017).
- Distribution of population
Statistics have placed the number of people living within the urban centers at 90 per cent of the total Australian population. ABS (2017) through the 20111 Australian Census of Population showed that the nation has its population richly diverse. This is due to the fact that there approximately 27 per cent which accounts for 5.3 million Australians are born abroad. In addition to that, about 4.1 million Australians which is a representation of 20 per cent are born abroad with only one of their parents being of the Australian origin. The rest of the populations who are 51 per cent make of the Aboriginal and the Torres Strait people (Hugo, 2015).
- Age
According to ABS (2017), the age structure within Australia is made of young people. For example the Aboriginal people who form the indigenous population are marked by some of the youngest people in the country. Nonetheless, Australia just like other developed nations in the world has continued to grapple with more aged people as opposed to the young. This has been largely attributed towards the low fertility rates as well as the increased life expectancy among the populations. For a case in point, there are fewer children of less than 15years than it was a decade ago. Inversely has been increased numbers of individuals who are aged 65 years and above.
ABS (2017) postulates that the numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander of individuals below the age of 15years stood at 34 per cent at the end of 2016. This is in comparison to the 18 per cent of the non-indigenous people of children under the same age bracket.
- Sex
B June 2016, ABS (2016) indicated that the Australian median age had gone up from 36.7 years to 37.2 years. In the same case the median age of males and females was at 36.4 years and 38.1 years respectively. Capital cities such as Hobart and Adelaide showcased the oldest median age among all the major cities in Australia. On the other hand, Darwin was considered to have the youngest Australian population of about 33.5 years. In Australia, the number of females as compared to those of males is slightly high. The ABS (2017) places this numbers at 187, 100 more females in comparison to the males. Thus the sex ratio of the total numbers of males to hundred females was stated to be 98.5 per cent.
- Geographic areas (urban, suburban, and rural density and concentration)
According to the World Bank (2017) most of Australia’s population has been found to live in the cities with only 10.45 per cent residing in the rural areas. Here, rural population has been established to be person living in areas as accurately defined by the national statistical offices (Meredith, 2000).
- Migration rates and patterns
Australia forms one of the few nations in the world that have experienced massive immigrations over the years. Here Australia is compared to other nations such as New Zealand the USA and Canada. According to Hugo (2015), there have been over 7.5 million people coming to Australia since 1945 when the immigration forum was formulated. In the same manner, statistics have placed the number of Australia’s citizens born abroad to be approximately 28.2 per cent of the nation’s total population. In 2015-16 it was estimated that the net overseas migration (NOM) was able to contain about 182,165. This was stated to be more than 3.0 per cent the number recorded in the preceding years of 2014-15. Similarly, another 366, 400 people also moved in an interstate in the years 2015 and 2016. This was estimated to have an 8.1 per cent increase from a similar period the preceding year. The migration patterns of most Australians has seen such a vast number of them being born and living out of the country (Verdonk, Wilkinson and Bruwer, 2015). For a case in point, in 2016 the resident population of the Australian people was approximated to be about 6.9 million people who were born abroad.
The fact that Australia is a vast nation, issues of interstate migration are quite common. Meredith (2000) views this as the reason why Australia’s population has been redistributed over time. For a case in point, in 2009, statistics have placed the number of people who have moved between states at 10, 331, 400 people. Some of the states most likely preferred by the internal migrants are Victoria, Queensland as well as the Western Australia. Tasmania has also been preferred as an ideal place for people to move into. However of all these states, Queensland were the most preferred state with approximately 86, 400 people migrating into followed secondly by New South Wales with 83, 000 people (Sudmant et.al, 2015).
- Ethnic groups
Australia can be described as a multi ethical nation based on the different ethnic groupings that live in the country. Here, it is estimated that 25.9 per of the people total population Australia are of European origin (English). Through the history of Australia, a number of issues come up in a bid to explaining its different ethnic groupings. One is the location of the country as well as the history which it has undergone over the years. As such, the colonization of Australia by Europeans critically explains the reason behind the large number of whites who are mostly Caucasians. Further to that has been the fact that Australia is one of the most developed counties near the Eastern Asia allows it to be penetrated by most communities within the region.
According to Hugo (2015) Australian’s populations are largely dominated by the whites despite that increased entry of the Aboriginal from Asia. As a result, 3 per cent of the Australia population is stated to entail only the indigenous people. Another 7 per cent come from the Asian continent. It is for this reason that most Australians do classify themselves as being of a mixed ancestry. Regardless of this issues of ethnicity and racism are a major problem in this nation based on the issues of national resources as well as governance (Roy, 2011).
- Economic statistics and activity
- Gross national product (GNP or GDP)
- Total
- Rate of growth (real GNP or GDP
- Personal income per capita
- Average family income
- Distribution of wealth
- Income classes
- Proportion of the population in each class
- Is the distribution distorted?
- Minerals and resources
- Surface transportation
- Modes
- Availability
- Usage rates
- Ports
- Communication systems
- Types
- Availability
- Usage rates
- Working conditions
- Employer–employee relations
- Employee participation
- Salaries and benefits
- Principal industries
- What proportion of the GNP does each industry contribute?
- Ratio of private to publicly owned industries
- Foreign investment
- Opportunities?
- Which industries?
- International trade statistics
- Major exports
- Dollar value
- Trends
- Major imports
- Dollar value
- Trends
- Balance-of-payments situation
- Surplus or deficit?
b.Recent trends
- Exchange rates
- Single or multiple exchange rates?
- Current rate of exchange
- Trends
- Trade restrictions
- Embargoes
- Quotas
- Import taxes
- Tariffs
- Licensing
- Customs duties
- Extent of economic activity not included in cash income activities
- Countertrades
- Products generally offered for countertrading
- Types of countertrades requested (barter, counter purchase, etc.)
- Foreign aid received
- Countertrades
- Labor force
- Size
- Unemployment rates
- Inflation rates
- Developments in science and technology
- Current technology available (computers, machinery, tools, etc.)
- Percentage of GNP invested in research and development
- Technological skills of the labor force and general population
- Channels of distribution (macro analysis)
This section reports data on all channel middlemen available within the market. Later, you will select a specific channel as part of your distribution strategy.
- Retailers
- Number of retailers
- Typical size of retail outlets
- Customary markup for various classes of goods
- Methods of operation (cash/credit)
- Scale of operation (large/small)
- Role of chain stores, department stores, and specialty shops
- Wholesale middlemen
- Number and size
- Customary markup for various classes of goods
- Method of operation (cash/credit) C. Import/export agents
- Warehousing
- Penetration of urban and rural markets
- Media
This section reports data on all media available within the country or market. Later, you will select specific media as part of the promotional mix and strategy.
- Availability of media
- Costs
- Television
- Radio
- Internet
- Other media (cinema, outdoor, etc.)
- Agency assistance
- Coverage of various media
- Percentage of population reached by each medium
- Executive summary
After completing the research for this report, prepare a two-page (maximum) summary of the major economic points and place it at the front
- Sources of information
References
Pagan, A., & Wilcox, D. (2015). External Review–Reserve Bank of Australia Economic Group Forecasts and Analysis. report to the Reserve Bank of Australia.
Voyer, M., Barclay, K., McIlgorm, A., & Mazur, N. (2017). Connections or conflict? A social and economic analysis of the interconnections between the professional fishing industry, recreational fishing and marine tourism in coastal communities in NSW, Australia. Marine Policy, 76, 114-121.
Rolfe, M. I., Donoghue, D. A., Longman, J. M., Pilcher, J., Kildea, S., Kruske, S., … & Morgan, G. G. (2017). The distribution of maternity services across rural and remote Australia: does it reflect population need?. BMC health services research, 17(1), 163.
Hugo, G. (2015). Population distribution, environment and climate change in non-metropolitan Australia. From Healthy Workers to a Healthy Planet: Reflections based on Tony McMichael’s four decades of contribution to epidemiological understanding.
Meredith, P. (2000). The Australian Geographic Glovebox Guide to the Blue Mountains. Australian Geographic.
Roy, P. S., Williams, R. J., Jones, A. R., Yassini, I., Gibbs, P. J., Coates, B., … & Nichol, S. (2001). Structure and function of south-east Australian estuaries. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 53(3), 351-384.
Verdonk, N. R., Wilkinson, K. L., & Bruwer, J. (2015). Importance, use and awareness of South Australian geographical indications. Australian journal of grape and wine research, 21(3), 361-366.
Sudmant, P. H., Mallick, S., Nelson, B. J., Hormozdiari, F., Krumm, N., Huddleston, J., … & Jorde, L. B. (2015). Global diversity, population stratification, and selection of human copy-number variation. Science, 349(6253), aab3761.
- Appendixes
