Common Task: Comparative Economics Written Report

The country I have chosen is India. India is the largest democracy in the world, being one of
the major economies with the fastest rate of economic growth, a technological hub, and a
major power. India has a population of 1.392 billion and a GDP per capita of $2283.05 USD,
$15000 USD less than the average GDP per capita.
International trade is the exchange of money, goods, and services across international
boundaries or regions. International trade can bring numerous benefits, including a larger
variety of products available to people, international cooperations and lower product costs.
However, international trade could create a significant dependence on other countries, local
unemployment and small companies may even suffer. GDP determines the aggregate
annual value of all completed goods and services produced in a country. A limitation of GDP
is that it does not measure income distribution and environmental quality, as well as social
welfare and wellbeing. GDP per capita is the GDP divided by the population. This gives us an
estimate of a country’s economic productivity and output per person. Material living
standards are usually things to do with goods and services, which can be purchase through
the use of currency. Usually, a greater GDP means higher material living standards. An
example of this is having better housing and sufficient food. On the other hand, non-
material living standards are subjective. They can sometimes be lowered when striving for a
greater material living standard. Non-material living standards include work-life balance, the
ambience of a residence, life expectancy and crime rate of a region or country.
Below is a table featuring statistics of Australia and India.
Country GDP($b) GDP per Population GDP% Top 3 Top 3 Top Export Top import
capita (m) Export Imports destination Destination
Goods and Goods and
Services Services
Australia 1748 $67200 Twenty-six 1.48% Mineral Refined China China
million Fuels, Ores, Petroleum,
Precious Cars, Crude oil
Metals
Country GDP($b) GDP per Population GDP% Top 3 Aust. Top 3 Aus. Top Top Import
capita (m) Exports to Imports to Export Destination
India India Destina
tion
India 3178 $2283.05 1392 8.9% Coal, Refined petrol, United China
million educational telecom & ICT, States
travel, Gold business
services

India currently has a GDP of 3.178 trillion USD, which divided by its population of 1.392
billion, gives us a GDP per capita of $2283.05 USD per person, which is approximately 15000
USD under the average global economic output per worker. India has an inflation rate of 5%
a year, much higher than the global average of 3.5%. India currently has an unemployment
rate at 7.9%, which is slightly greater than the global average of 6.5%. Australia has a lower
unemployment rate at 5%, while India has a significantly lower cost of living, at 28%
compared to Australia’s 118%. However, the Indian economy has a higher corruption index
at 60, and greater commercial taxes and contributions, at 49% compared to Australia’s 47%.
The inflation rate for Australia is 3%, whereas for India it is 5%. Australia recently signed a
free trade agreement with India, which came into effect in the second half of the year 2022.
Major exports include coal, copper, and gold, while major imports include medicaments,
pearls, gems, and refined petroleum. These imports and exports are of particular
importance to Australia as it makes up for a substantial portion of the country’s GDP.
Importing refined petroleum allows for a secure and reliable source of energy to power the
nation.
A current economic event that may impact Australia’s trading relationship with my given
country in the future is COVID-19. COVID-19 introduced new trade restrictions like restricted
exports of essential goods and products. Supply chains were affected by the need to
prioritise health and safety, as well as availability of labour decreasing due to lockdowns.
Some supply chains have been severely disrupted as COVID may have prevented trading
across certain borders for health and safety issues.
Bibliography:

Australian High Commission, Australia-India relationship. Available from:

https://india.embassy.gov.au/ndli/relations.html. [19th October 2022]

World Data, Country Comparison. Available from:

https://www.worlddata.info/country-comparison.php?country1=AUS&country2=IND. [19th October 2022]

The World Bank, Trade Agreements in a Post-COVID-19 World. Available from:

https://www.worldbank.org/en/events/2020/07/28/trade-agreements-in-a-post-covid-19-world. [19th October 2022]

OECD, Tackling Coronavirus. Available from:

https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/covid-19-and-international-trade-issues-and-actions-494da2fa/ . [20th
October 2022]
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