"These blessed 'censi'": the history of an ignored credit instrument in Florentine economic, social and religious life from 1570 to 1790. The project explores the role of 'Censi', a type of annuity, in the life and economy of Florence from 1570 to 1790. It seeks to demonstrate that 'Censi' made it possible for Florentines to maintain a substantial level of prosperity throughout this period, despite the loss of a long-held leadership in banking, international trade and industry.
Measuring the effect of monetary policy on the economy. This project aims to measure the effect of monetary policy on the economy, notably consumption and investment, in Australia and the US. This research intends to fill a gap in the empirical macroeconomic literature, which focuses on the supply side of the economy. This project will account for unstable economic conditions caused by institutional or behavioural changes, such as financial development / liberalisation and preference shocks, in ....Measuring the effect of monetary policy on the economy. This project aims to measure the effect of monetary policy on the economy, notably consumption and investment, in Australia and the US. This research intends to fill a gap in the empirical macroeconomic literature, which focuses on the supply side of the economy. This project will account for unstable economic conditions caused by institutional or behavioural changes, such as financial development / liberalisation and preference shocks, in the analysis; and develop econometric methods tailored for application to models with time varying parameters. This project expects to contribute to understanding the economy’s recent unresponsiveness to monetary policy.Read moreRead less
Designing for uncertainty in conservation auctions. Economic theory and case study evidence show that tenders or auctions are more efficient than grant mechanisms for encouraging landholders to produce environmental outcomes on private land. These studies have ignored the effects of uncertainty of both bidders and administrators about factors such as landholder participation and the level of environmental benefits that will be delivered. This project will test whether distributing environmental ....Designing for uncertainty in conservation auctions. Economic theory and case study evidence show that tenders or auctions are more efficient than grant mechanisms for encouraging landholders to produce environmental outcomes on private land. These studies have ignored the effects of uncertainty of both bidders and administrators about factors such as landholder participation and the level of environmental benefits that will be delivered. This project will test whether distributing environmental funds via tenders is still efficient when uncertainty about various important factors is considered. Results from this research are expected to inform the cost effective design of systems to pay landholders for the provision of environmental benefits even when there is high uncertainty.Read moreRead less
New methods for modelling and forecasting risk. The project will develop and assess risk measures and risk forecasting. It will assess why customary measures failed in the financial crisis and develop new and better techniques. The project is unique in terms of the scope and range of methods to be applied and tested. It will be of value to investors, institutions and regulators alike.
The econometrics of gravity models of trade: a re-assessment. This research will lead a much greater understanding of the empirical determinants of trade flows between countries. This project will apply cutting-edge data econometric techniques to the popular Gravity model of international trade flows. These more appropriate techniques will shed more light on some previous puzzling findings, such that regional trade agreements had little, or no, affect on trade.
Energy transitions: past, present and future. Uncertainty about the costs of transitioning to a low carbon economy in Australia and other countries will be reduced by improving our knowledge of the costs of reducing fossil fuel use and the role of energy in economic growth. Energy economics research capabilities in Australia will be enhanced.
Improving risk management based on short-term stochastic forecast for financial decisions. The project targets the problems of strategy selection in the framework of mathematical finance. The aim is to find ways to reduce the impact of forecast errors in the presence of uncertainty. Related forecasting algorithms and solutions of optimization problems will be obtained.