The Changing External Exposure of Australian Industry

Abstract

This article examines changes in trade-related external exposure for Australian industry from 1990-91 to 2000-01, using primary and composite measures that capture the effects of exports, imports and imported inputs. The primary measures show that export market share for all exporting industries increased, but import market share increased at an equal or greater rate both overall and in most industries. Input value import shares also increased across virtually all industries. Two composite measures are calculated, the Index of Effective Exposure (IEE) and an extended IEE incorporating import market shares. The extended IEE shows that the net external exposure of Australian industry has been increasing over the decade, particularly in the Manufacturing and Mining Divisions. The net exposure of Australian manufacturing industries is lower than expected compared to the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan, but the rankings of manufacturing industries in each country are similar and becoming more so.