Fewer British and American academics are interested in working in Australia now that salaries are less competitive and our History departments are shrinking. Research resources in Australia seem thin compared with those available in the United States. Early Modern Studies do cost more than many other areas of the humanities, although this cost is low compared with that of research in the sciences and medicine. Early Modern research requires time in overseas archives, and travel and living abroad are expensive. However, the rate of publication of books and articles suggests that scholars are making good use of funds and opportunities.
History is probably the most expensive research area, as archival studies remain fundamental to it.
Some important bibliographical studies emanating from Australia also depend upon overseas library collections. While overseas research is of paramount importance, the maintenance of research library collections in Australia is also vital. They are, however, expensive. For example, I once wanted to calculate what proportion of the tracts published in 1649 in England were collected by George Thomason, to test a hypothesis that Thomason grew more and more interested in his collecting as the years passed. A visiting scholar from the United States told me that he had calculated the equivalent figure for 1641, and I wanted to compare the two figures.