RDP 9312: A Re-examination of the Determinants of Australia's Imports Appendix 1: Data

Unless otherwise mentioned, all data series are quarterly, from 1974:3 to 1993:1, seasonally adjusted and based in 1989/90 prices where relevant.

(a) Import Volumes

Endogenous imports, consumption imports, capital imports and ‘other’ imports, where the last category is taken to represent intermediate goods. Data for the three broad economic classifications of imports are only available from September 1979. Source: ABS Catalogue No. 5302.0.

Computer imports. Data are unpublished ABS and non-seasonally adjusted. Computer equipment imports (SITC 752) are included in capital imports, while computer parts imports (SITC 75997) are in ‘other’ imports. Source: ABS, unpublished.

(b) Activity Variables

Real GNE, GDP, private consumption, gross non-farm production and non-farm stocks. GNE and GDP are income-based estimates. Source: ABS Catalogue No. 5206.0.

(c) Relative Prices

Implicit price deflators for total endogenous imports, consumption imports, capital imports, ‘other’ imports and GNE. Source: ABS Catalogue No. 5206.0.

Prices of Materials Used in Manufacturing (Home Produced Series). Source: ABS Catalogue No. 6411.0.

Price of domestically produced import substitutes. Source Dwyer (1992).

(d) Trade Data

Customs duty receipts (monthly). Source: Department of Finance, Commonwealth Financial Transactions.

Effective rate of assistance to manufacturing derived by splicing shorter-run series published by the Australian Industry Commission. Source: Plunkett, Wilson and Argy (1992).

Nominal rate of protection proxied by re-weighting the nominal rate of assistance for each of the 12 two digit ASIC categories of the manufacturing division according to import shares, with the latter derived from SITC data. Source: Industry Commission, Annual Report: 1991/92.

(e) Supply of Import-Competing Goods

Defined as manufacturing GDP of each traded industry less its exports. Calculated from 1976:3 to 1993:1 as total manufacturing GDP less that of non-traded manufacturing industries (wood, wood products and furniture, non-metallic mineral products and fabricated metal products) less exports of all other industries (other metals, machinery, transport equipment, other manufactures, cork and wood products, furniture, non-metallic mineral manufactures and metals manufactures).

Other metals, machinery, transport equipment and other manufactures are Balance of Payments categories. The remaining industries are, respectively, the SITC categories 63, 82, 66, 69.

Source: ABS Catalogue No. 5206.0 Table 19; ABS Catalogue No. 5302.0 Table 14; ABS unpublished data; ABS Exports by SITC.