Every three years since 2007 the Reserve Bank has conducted a Consumer Payments Survey, which provides comprehensive information on how Australians make payments. The 2022 survey is the first to be conducted since the COVID-19 pandemic, and so provides a valuable snapshot of its impact on consumer spending patterns.

There has been a stark decline in the size and diversity of the Year 12 Economics student population in Australia since the early 1990s. This paper addresses 3 key questions to uncover what is driving these trends at Australia's high schools.