The Reserve Bank has expressed concern the Australian economy may be trapped in the slow lane of economic growth, indefinitely.

This would suppress wage growth and household income for millions of Australians for decades.

The silver lining is that the central bank believes there is still time for the economy to break free, find clear air and grow faster than its long-term average.

"Could Australia find itself trapped on the economic rail like one of the riders in last week's Cup — boxed in by its own capacity constraints?", deputy governor of the Reserve Bank Andrew Hauser asked a Sydney gathering of investment bankers and economists today.

"Or will it find ways to break free, through higher productivity and more investment in new capacity?

"If it does, we could be off to the races,"

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