Intriguingly, post-war powerhouses Japan, the USA, the United Kingdom, Germany and France are well down both lists.
The formula can be applied at any time in the past: How did Australia rank when Peter Costello inherited the ledgers in 1996? How did Australia rank when Paul Keating took them from John Howard in 1983?
Comparing the two lists compiled so far – 2007 and 2013 – reveals dramatic rises and spectacular crashes.
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Australia starred, striding from 9th to clear first place. Canada climbed from 13th to 7th, Sweden soared from 18th to 9th, New Zealand zoomed from 25th to 10th, and Taiwan turned up 14th from 22nd. Others to rise dramatically were Oman, Chile and the United Arab Emirates.
The dismal demises were mostly in Europe: Iceland fell from 2nd to a frosty 15th, Ireland is idling now at 32nd after starting 14th, Finland finished 19th from 5th and the Slovak Republic slipped from 16th to 41st. Other losers were Hong Kong, Bahrain, the Netherlands and Spain.
What do these booms and busts reveal about the competing explanations for Australia's extraordinary ascendancy?
Of the five main theories, only one appears well-supported by the movements up and down the rankings.
Firstly, did a strong cash position at the onset of the GFC do the trick? The analysis suggests not. Most cashed-up economies tanked.
Secondly, budget surpluses? Again the evidence is against. Hong Kong, Bahrain, Denmark, Ireland, Spain, Finland, the Netherlands, and Iceland all had strong surpluses in 2008, yet all went backwards badly. An inverse correlation, if anything.
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Was it Australia's good fortune, thirdly, to have iron ore to export? Not really. Brazil, India and South Africa also exported iron ore but all went into recession and fell in the rankings through the GFC.
Fourthly, trade with China? Yes and no. Other countries have substantial exports to China. These include the Euro Area, Hong Kong and Malaysia whose rankings all fell spectacularly. Australia and New Zealand among China's suppliers rose substantially. But was that the reason?
Consider, fifthly, countries which applied strong and rapid stimulus spending when the GFC hit in 2008.
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