This book tells the story of Australia’s integration into the international economy. It traces the Australian economy from Federation to its inevitable downturn in the 1970s and assesses the current state of play as Australia struggles under the pressures of economic globalisation. Bob Catley argues that the insistent protection of domestic commodity industries has left Australia tied to slow growth industries at the expense of expanding the manufactured goods and services industries which now make up the bulk of world trade. Topics include the inadequacies of the dirigiste dual economy, the necessary rise of economic rationalism, demographic and geographic repercussions of globalisation, and the implications for Australian international relations of the emerging power of the Asia-Pacific region. Catley argues that structural changes are still required to ensure a competitive Australian economy in the world market.