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The article discusses the economic effects of the gold discoveries upon South Africa from 1886-1910. South Africa's gold discoveries present a peculiarly happy situation for a study of the changes accompanying these new conditions. Into this simple economy there suddenly burst a vast predominant force, creating a new industry overnight whose product, gold, should exercise its powerful effects upon the whole world. At first glance, it might be supposed that South Africa merely offers on a somewhat larger scale the conditions so ably discussed by a leading economist in his papers concerning the Australian discoveries. Unlike Australia which was soon provided with a domestic refinery and mint, the product of the South African mines, raw bullion, went out of the country in the same manner as any other merchandise export, without reference to exchange rates or specie points. It is, thus, the movement of coined gold and refined gold bars, not crude gold bullion, which must be watched as indicating shifts in South Africa's international trade position.

The article comments on the paper "Prices, Wages and Industrial Productivity in Australia and New Zealand," by E. Lerdau and J. Rowe published in the February 1956 issue of "The Quarterly Journal of Economics." The paper discusses the association between productivity and size of establishment. The authors find a very close association, and in the case of a "test industry" a significant correlation. High output and high productivity are obviously positively associated. If one measures the size of a firm by the volume of its output, one will get a positive correlation between productivity and size of firm. When such spurious correlation is presented as significant, it may create the impression that high productivity is possible only in large firms. The article also makes use of several mathematical formulas to examine between productivity and size of establishment.

The article evaluates the work of the wages board based on the impact of the mode of wage regulation on the prosperity and welfare of the people in Australia. It is not possible to show by means of statistics what effect the determinations of wages boards have had upon wages. The most serious charge brought against the method of regulating wages by wages boards is that it leads to unemployment to minimum wage earners. A mode of wage regulation would have important consequences in industrial development. For many trades the wages board is the beginning of organization. The final test of the success of any legislative experiment made by self-governing people is the degree of satisfaction which these laws afford to those who are responsible for their enactment and enforcement.

Focuses on the economic problems of the Australian railways in 1908. Origin of the railways; Loopholes in the land policy for railways; Administrative problems encountered by the railway system; Comparison of Australian railways with that of American railways; Details on policies for the railways.

The article discusses the economic growth of New South Wales and Victoria. It focuses on the implementation of tariffs in these regions for the protection of domestic industries. While Victoria had adopted the protective system earlier, New South Wales strictly sticks to a tariff for revenue only. The growth of population has been more rapid in New South Wales than in Victoria. It discusses the tariff systems in both the areas and concludes that a protective tariff will not work in all cases and may be beneficial for only some industries.

The article explores the essential features of the national wage policy in Australia. The determination of wage rates in the country is in the hands of a large number of tribunals, constituted under state and federal law. The centralization of decision-making in wage-fixing has been encouraged by the centralized structure of unions representing nearly 60 per cent of all wage and salary earners, and employers' organizations. However, the present constitutional provisions, the federal government has no powers to fix wages and prices.

The article demonstrates problems faced by international organizations while planning a program of wide participation, using the example of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) and its procurement programs and activities in Australia. The UNRRA was the first organization evolved during the World War II actually operating on an international scale. Created in November 1943 to provide relief to the suffering and to assist in the agricultural and industrial rehabilitation of devastated areas, UNRRA eventually became the service agency of forty-eight governments. Its immediate task was gigantic. The war had subjugated hundreds of millions of people, upset their economies, destroyed their industrial and agricultural potential, and left devastation throughout the world. UNRRA's raison d'etre was to provide the immediate assistance required for relief and rehabilitation, it was an emergency program. At the same time, by its initial contribution toward rehabilitation, it was expected to pave the way for subsequent reconstruction activities.

Examines Professor Karl Anderson's conclusions regarding the protection policy of Australia. Reasons for justifying the importance of a tariff on manufactured goods; Arguments for the production of manufactured goods than in the production of primary goods; Relevance of the protection policy of Australia to the theory of international trade.

The article discusses the problems of federal finance and federal grants in Australia. Probably what has happened in Australia in the last four years on this problem has its counterpart in the U.S. and in other federal systems. Fundamental changes in economic prosperity upset the financial balance between the federal and state governments in any federation. It so happened in the case of Australia that the depression seriously affected the finances of all the states and particularly of the so-called marginal states, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania, which had for some time been claimants for federal assistance. First, as to the state disabilities. It was argued by the three claimant states that in differing degrees their finances and economic prosperity had been adversely affected by Commonwealth policy on the tariff, the protection of coastal shipping and the awards of the Commonwealth Arbitration Court. Further, it was claimed by at least one state that the original terms of the constitution had been so altered as to render the position of states precarious.

The article focuses on issues related to economic effects of the Australian tariff. There is analysis of the Australian Tariff Committee's report on tariff and free trade theory. Professor Jacob Viner states that free trade theory had not attempted to face certain questions relevant to the application of protection to a country with resources like those of Australia. Economist Alfred Marshall's analysis of the laws of increasing and decreasing returns upon the fiscal policy is of special interest to Australia. It is viewed that the export industries have to bear most of the tariff burden. It is observed that the greatest expansion of employment in the primary industries is in dairying and sugar which have benefited substantially from the tariff. An analysis of the relation of the increase in employment to tariff assistance for manufacturing sustains the conclusion that those industries which have received the greatest protection are those in which the expansion has been most pronounced.

Discusses the economic implications of the judgment passed by the Australian judicial courts on the 'Forty-Four Hours Case.' Influence of the application of the Amalgamated Engineering Union on the working hours of employees in the engineering trades; Disputes on the reduction of work hours; Effects of the approval of the reduction of working hours on industrial standards.

Discusses the taxation of unimproved value of land in Australia. Spread of taxes on unimproved land from 1884 to 1910; Three chief aims of taxation; Breaking up of big estates; Extent and importance of big estates; Federal land tax of 1910; Reduced holdings of absentee landowners; Difficulty of finding land for settlers.