The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Australia

Abstract

The current Global Financial Crisis (GFC) is a potent reminder of the interconnectedness of the world economy. Although Australia seems to have escaped the worst of the crisis and avoided a technical recession, falling share prices and returns on investments have impacted upon incomes. In this paper we use longitudinal data collected by the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey (n=9354), to compare both total incomes and the sources of income in 2007 and 2008 to assess the social conditions under which the GFC unfolded.