Improving external validity of stated choice experiments. This project aims to deliver more accurate estimates of choice behaviour by reducing biases due to choice task complexity in surveys as well as design artefacts. Extracting 'true' preferences is challenging, not only due to possible hypothetical bias, but also due to increasingly complex choice tasks and the existence of design artefacts. This project will investigate the latter two in the context of marketing, transport, health, and envi ....Improving external validity of stated choice experiments. This project aims to deliver more accurate estimates of choice behaviour by reducing biases due to choice task complexity in surveys as well as design artefacts. Extracting 'true' preferences is challenging, not only due to possible hypothetical bias, but also due to increasingly complex choice tasks and the existence of design artefacts. This project will investigate the latter two in the context of marketing, transport, health, and environmental economics, and proposes new methodologies to extract preferences that more closely reflect true behaviour in real markets.Read moreRead less
Understanding and overcoming confusion in consumer financial decisions. This project aims to develop consumer-centred approaches to reducing the harmful effects of confusion in financial decisions by studying superannuation investment and home loan decisions where confused choices are individually and collectively costly. The project intends to develop comprehensive models to capture the full complexity of financial products and the diverse preferences and capability of consumers, then to use ad ....Understanding and overcoming confusion in consumer financial decisions. This project aims to develop consumer-centred approaches to reducing the harmful effects of confusion in financial decisions by studying superannuation investment and home loan decisions where confused choices are individually and collectively costly. The project intends to develop comprehensive models to capture the full complexity of financial products and the diverse preferences and capability of consumers, then to use advanced statistical methods to estimate the benefits of clearer decision-making. The outcomes of this project includes new models of complex financial decisions, and a better understanding of where confusion arises and the effects it may have. Decreased confusion will raise financial well-being and help communities become more resilient to financial shocks.Read moreRead less
Small firms' finances: effects on employment, wages and growth. The project aims to estimate how difficulties in accessing financial and credit markets affect small and medium enterprise (SME) decisions about employment, wages, entry and exit. Although the SME sector is Australia’s largest employer, the extent to which financial constraints affect these firms' market performance and their ability to create and sustain employment is unknown. The project plans to use an econometric analysis of fir ....Small firms' finances: effects on employment, wages and growth. The project aims to estimate how difficulties in accessing financial and credit markets affect small and medium enterprise (SME) decisions about employment, wages, entry and exit. Although the SME sector is Australia’s largest employer, the extent to which financial constraints affect these firms' market performance and their ability to create and sustain employment is unknown. The project plans to use an econometric analysis of firm level panel data to fill this gap. The intended outcome is micro-econometric findings tailored to improve targeted labour and financial policy. The expected benefit is to provide input to policy responses that support employment, productivity and wages in volatile market conditions.Read moreRead less
Biosecurity or Trade Barrier? The Economic Costs of Quarantine. Agricultural, fishing and forestry groups are united in supporting strict biosecurity measures, such as quarantine, in order to prevent any possibility of the importation of diseases. However, the importation of certain products from "diseased" countries does not necessarily mean that the disease will also be imported, and even if imported it may not result in the destruction of the local industry. The "diseased" countries obviousl ....Biosecurity or Trade Barrier? The Economic Costs of Quarantine. Agricultural, fishing and forestry groups are united in supporting strict biosecurity measures, such as quarantine, in order to prevent any possibility of the importation of diseases. However, the importation of certain products from "diseased" countries does not necessarily mean that the disease will also be imported, and even if imported it may not result in the destruction of the local industry. The "diseased" countries obviously remain competitive if they are able to export the products. Foreign quarantine restrictions are restricting Australia's access to international markets. The costs to consumers of the current zero-tolerance policy has not been quantified. The costs may indeed exceed the benefit.Read moreRead less
The value of Aboriginal cultural heritage: cultural production and regional economies in Eastern Arnhem Land and the Western Desert. The project will research the ways in which the unique and dynamic character of Aboriginal knowledge systems and cultural production can be utilized and maintained within regional systems of economic development. The project will focus on art and cultural tourism in two regions: Eastern Arnhem Land and the Western desert.
Historical frontier violence: drivers, legacy and the role of truth-telling. This project aims to build data to identify the historical factors that incited frontier violence; quantify the legacy on communities today and conduct fieldwork to understand how historical trauma is transmitted across generations. This project expects to develop new knowledge on the circumstances and legacy of settlement and the origins of gaps in life prospects between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Our e ....Historical frontier violence: drivers, legacy and the role of truth-telling. This project aims to build data to identify the historical factors that incited frontier violence; quantify the legacy on communities today and conduct fieldwork to understand how historical trauma is transmitted across generations. This project expects to develop new knowledge on the circumstances and legacy of settlement and the origins of gaps in life prospects between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Our expectation is that this will increase public acceptance of the circumstances of settlement and the need to make amends. This project should help increase public support for truth-telling and better relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, a vital step towards reconciliation and healing the nation. Read moreRead less
A History of Foreign Multinational Enterprises in Australia from Federation. We aim to deliver the first history of foreign multinational firms in twentieth-century Australia, connecting to, and enhancing, a rich overseas literature on global business. Foreign corporations have played a critical but poorly understood role here with public and policy opinions polarised between approval for new investment, job creation and innovation against concern for their impact on tax revenue, competition, an ....A History of Foreign Multinational Enterprises in Australia from Federation. We aim to deliver the first history of foreign multinational firms in twentieth-century Australia, connecting to, and enhancing, a rich overseas literature on global business. Foreign corporations have played a critical but poorly understood role here with public and policy opinions polarised between approval for new investment, job creation and innovation against concern for their impact on tax revenue, competition, and economic policy. Through a closer, long term understanding of multinationals – their magnitude, motives to settle here, corporate structures, and adaptation to local conditions – our findings will inform public debate and policy about the roles of foreign investment and foreign enterprises in the Australian economy today.Read moreRead less
Intelligence and national security: ethics, efficacy and accountability. This project aims to generate an ethically informed set of practice and policy guidelines for viable security intelligence collection and analysis of electronic data by liberal democracies. In the context of global terrorism and the resurgence of technologically sophisticated authoritarian states, effective intelligence collection and analysis of electronic data is crucial for the national security of liberal democratic sta ....Intelligence and national security: ethics, efficacy and accountability. This project aims to generate an ethically informed set of practice and policy guidelines for viable security intelligence collection and analysis of electronic data by liberal democracies. In the context of global terrorism and the resurgence of technologically sophisticated authoritarian states, effective intelligence collection and analysis of electronic data is crucial for the national security of liberal democratic states. Yet intelligence agencies in Australia, United States, European Union and so on, are not only under pressure to perform, but must also meet a variety of ethical challenges, notably privacy constraints and democratic accountability. This project will contribute to Australia's national security policy making environment, and to privacy and broader human rights debates, by providing an evidenced based, ethically informed set of practice and policy guidelines for viable national security intelligence practice in liberal democracies.Read moreRead less
Inconsistent migration data in the Asia Pacific. This project aims to develop statistical models of population movements in the Asia-Pacific regionto harmonise, correct for errors and estimate annual flows by origin, destination, age and sex. International migration is increasing and thriving in the Asia-Pacific region but data on the annual movements and pathways are largely unknown because the data are unavailable for cross-national comparison. This is surprising considering the region makes u ....Inconsistent migration data in the Asia Pacific. This project aims to develop statistical models of population movements in the Asia-Pacific regionto harmonise, correct for errors and estimate annual flows by origin, destination, age and sex. International migration is increasing and thriving in the Asia-Pacific region but data on the annual movements and pathways are largely unknown because the data are unavailable for cross-national comparison. This is surprising considering the region makes up over three-fifths of the world’s population. The results are expected to form a basis for understanding the dynamics and complexity of migration in countries near Australia.Read moreRead less
Measuring inflation expectations and inflation expectations uncertainty. This project aims to construct model-based measures of inflation expectations and inflation expectations uncertainty. Inflation expectations can determine economic outcomes. This project will develop non-linear time-varying models to combine information from noisy and possibly biased measures of inflation expectations from surveys and financial markets. These model-based measures are expected to be better calibrated and to ....Measuring inflation expectations and inflation expectations uncertainty. This project aims to construct model-based measures of inflation expectations and inflation expectations uncertainty. Inflation expectations can determine economic outcomes. This project will develop non-linear time-varying models to combine information from noisy and possibly biased measures of inflation expectations from surveys and financial markets. These model-based measures are expected to be better calibrated and to provide valuable information for policymakers for formulating macroeconomic policies. They can be used to better assess the credibility of monetary policy and shed light on the causes of low inflation rate in developed economies.Read moreRead less