Topic 2 - Part 1: Australia's trade and financial flows Flashcards
How many ‘phases’ of change of Aus direction of trade have there been? (as in decades)
1950s, 1960s, 2000s, 2020s
How has Aus direction of trade changed over the past 4 phases of decades? (more specific, give reasons)
1950s: Mainly traded with the UK and other European countries, largely due to our historical ties with them, but eventually formed the EU trading bloc, and stopped trading with Aus
1960s: Japan became our largest export market, which was largely due to their strong EG during this time and thus demanded for more minerals and energy, which Aus was able to provide
2000s: In the 1990s, Japan’s trade begun to start shrinking because of Japans low EG and Aus increased focus on other markets in the region. In the early 2000s, exports to China began sustained period of rapid growth, which made China Aus’s largest trading partner, largely due to China’s increasing significance in the global economy and Aus being a commodity supplier, whilst Aus is a commodity demander
2020s: Likely to see further shifts towards rapidly-growing regional economies in Asia, Asian economies are expected to make up aa larger proportion of world trade in the 2020s
What is the balance of payments (BoP)?
Balance of Payments refer to the record of the transactions between Australia and the rest of the world during a given period
What is the current account?
The Current Account is part of the BoP that shows the receipts and payments for trade in goods and services, transfer payments and income flows between Aus and the rest of the world in a given time period. Here, the transactions are non-reversible
What are credits?
Inflow of money into Aus economy
What are debits?
Outflow of money from Aus economy
What are the two main parts to the Balance of Payments?
The current account (CA)
The capital and financial account (KFA)
What are the 5 components of the current account?
Net goods, Net services, Balance on goods and services, primary income, secondary income
How is the balance of the current account calculated?
Addition of the Net goods, Net services, Balance on goods and services, primary income, secondary income
What do net goods refer to?
Refers to the difference between what Australia receives for its exports and what it pays out for its imports of goods. Net goods = export receipts - import payments for goods
What are the 3 outcomes for the net goods?
Australia could be in a balance (X receipts = I payments)
Australia could be in a surplus (X receipts > I Payments)
Australia could be in a deficit (X receipts < I payments)
What are net services?
Refers to the services that are bought and sold without people receiving a ‘good’ in return (i,. transport , travel, insurance, telephone calls etc.). Net services = export receipts - import payments for services
What is the Balance on goods and services (BOGS)?
This refers to the amount that is derived from adding net goods and net services together
What is net primary income?
This refers to the earnings on investments (the income that is earned as a return from a factor of production). Covers interest on borrowings, profits and dividends. It is the difference between income flows into Aus and income flows out of Aus as earnings on investment.
Explain the idea of credits and debits on the net primary income
Debits: When foreigners invest in Aus, income in the form of rent, profits interest and dividends flows overseas
Credits: When Australians invest overseas, there is a flow of income back to Australia
What is net secondary income?
This refers to non-market transfers (Income that isn’t earned through a factor of production). Occurs when products or financial resources are provided without a specific good or service being provided in return.
What are examples of net secondary income?
Payouts in insurance claims, workers’ remittances (eg. foreign workers in Aus sending money overseas (remittance)), government pensions, unconditional aid to developing nation, pensions
What are considered debits on the CA? (6)
Imports of goods
Imports of services
Interest paid to foreign firms
Profits of foreign firms operating in Aus, including dividends
Payments to offshore employees by Aus firms
Non market transfers out of Aus
What are considered credits on the CA? (6)
Exports of goods
Exports of services
Interest received by Aus firms from overseas
Profits of Aus firms earned offshore, including dividends
Payment to offshore employees working in Aus
Non market transfers into Aus
What is the capital and financial account (KFA)?
The Capital and Financial Account (KFA) records the borrowing, lending, sales and purchase of assets between Australia and the rest of the world. These transactions are reversible (transactions can be undone in the future
(i.e. borrowings can be paid back, and assets that are bought can be sold again)
What is the capital account?
Refers to transfers in the form of tied aid, purchase and sale of non-financial assets. It also consists of ‘capital transfers’ and ‘purchase and sale of non-produced, non financial assets, foreign investment (conditional)
What are capital transfers?
Part of the capital account
refers to when a worker migrants in/out of a country, and bring their capital or bank account savings with them
What are purchase and sale of non produced, non financial assets?
Part of capital account
refers to purchase of things such as patents, copyrights, trademarks and franchises
What is the financial account?
Refers to the inflows (credits) and outflows (debits) related to transactions in foreign financial assets and liabilities
What are the 5 parts of the financial account?
Foreign Direct Investment
Portfolio investment
Financial derivatives
Other investments
Reserve assets
What does foreign direct investment refer to?
Refers to the establishing a new business overseas or purchasing a controlling stake in an existing business (greater than 10% of shares)
What does portfolio investment refer to?
buying of land, shares or other marketable securities in existing companies
What do financial derivatives refer to?
financial assets whose value is normally derived from the performance of specific assets, interest rates, exchange rates or indices.
What are reserve assets?
financial assets controlled by the central authorities for financing or regulating payment imbalances. For example; monetary gold, Special Drawing Rights and foreign exchange
What is considered ‘other investments’ in the financial account?
residual category that captures transactions not classified as direct investment, portfolio investment, financial derivatives or reserve assets.
Includes trade credits, loans including financial leases, currency and deposits, all other transactions
What are net errors and omissions, and what is the purpose of it?
Refers to statistical discrepancies. It is included because under a floating exchange rate system, the current account and the capital and financial account always balance to zero (i.e. the Balance of payments = 0)
Does the current account and financial account add up to zero together?
Yes
What are the links between key BoP categories? (3)
CA and KFA will always add up to zero altogether, where a deficit on CA equals to an equivalent surplus on KFA
Meanwhile, a surplus on CA equals to an equivalent deficit on KFA
A KFA surplus will result in a larger deficit on the net primary income. This is because foreign financial flows that come into Aus must earn some return for its owners, which result in a debit on the NPY account
How does floating the $A ensure that there is a balance on the BoP?
Under a floating exchange rate, supply of $A = demand for $A
Therefore;
Imports + income debits + capital outflow = exports + income credits + capital inflow
which can be rearranged into:
Imports - Exports + income debits - income credits = Capital inflow - capital outflow
Leading to:
Deficit on CA = surplus on the KFA
What are two ways that financial inflows can create debits on the primary income category of the CA?
International borrowing (foreign debt): requires regular interest payments or servicing costs, recorded as debits on NPY
Foreign investment (foreign equity): requires returns on the equity investment, such as rent, dividends, profits which are recorded as debits on NPY
Would high levels of KFA surpluses result in widening CAD? If so, why
Because there are increased servicing costs associated with increasing foreign liabilities
What does CAD stand for?
Current Account Deficit
What is Australia’s average CAD in 2000s?
4.6%
What is the trend in CAD since 1980?
Trend is that Aus CAD is among the highest in the industrialised world , cycling between 3-6% GDP since 1980
What are cyclical factors?
Factors which vary with the level of eco activity, i.e. changes in global demand for commodities, Australia’s ToT, value of exchange rate
What are structural factors?
Factors which are underlying or persistent influences on the balance of payments
I.e. structures of export base, international competitiveness of exports, level of national savings
What are they cyclical factors which have an effect on BOGS? (4)
Movements in the exchange rates
Terms of Trade
Level of domestic eco growth
Changes in the IBC
How do movements in the exchange rates affect the BOGS?
Affects the IC of Aus X and relative price of g+s that Aus imports
Depreciations decrease foreign currency price of Aus exports, increasing IC of Aus X on world markets, it also discourages consumers from purchasing imports, leading to a surplus in the BOGS
What is an example of BOGS being affected by the exchange rates?
BOGS went into surplus in 2008-09 after $A experienced sharp depreciation due to deteriorating global outlook, reaching 7-year low of $US 0.62 in late 2008
How do terms of trade impact the BOGS?
If TOT increases, there is an improvement on BOGS –> decrease in CAD
If TOT deteriorates, there is a deterioration of BOGS –> increase in CAD
Higher TOT reflects increased demand for Aus X –> increased demand for $A –> appreciation of e/r –> Weakened IC of Aus non-commodity X
What are terms of trade (ToT)?
Terms of trade measures the relative movements in the price of an economy’s imports and exports over a period of time
Calculated by price of exports/price of imports