'Riding on the Sheep's Back': Examining Australia's Dependence on Wool Exports

This paper extends the staple theory literature by examining the influence of wool, Australia's dominant primary-product export, on the development of the Australian economy and external position over the period 1862-1995. The results support the view that while shocks to the wool industry had significant effects on the Australian economy and external position in the period 1862-1929, after the Second World War the wool industry no longer played a dominant role in the evolution of the Australian economy.