01678cas a2200253 a 4500 AALejournalIMF000173 230101c9999 xx r poo 0 0eng d 5.00 USD 9781451850703 1018-5941 BD-DhAAL BD-DhAAL McDermott, C. Are Australia's Current Account Deficits Excessive? / C. McDermott, Paul Cashin. Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 1996. 1 online resource (28 pages) IMF Working Papers <strong>Off-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required <strong>On-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required Electronic access restricted to authorized BRAC University faculty, staff and students This paper compares the evolution of the Australian current account balance over the period 1954-94 against an optimal current account derived from a consumption-smoothing model. The findings indicate that the Australian current account was not used to smooth consumption optimally in the period prior to the relaxation of capital controls in the early 1980s. The results also suggest that in the period since the mid-1980s Australia's current account deficits have become excessive, and that the increase in national saving required to satisfy its external borrowing constraint is about 2 to 4 percent of GDP. Mode of access: Internet Cashin, Paul. IMF Working Papers; Working Paper ; No. 1996/085 Full text available on IMF http://elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/001/1996/085/001.1996.issue-085-en.xml IMF e-Library