What are the determinants and effects of school choice? An international comparison between Australia and the UK. The project will provide a clearer picture of the determinants of school choice, most notably the impact of economic phenomena on that choice. For Australia, this will mean we have a better understanding of the competing explanations of the growth of students at private schools over the past three decades: the role of government subsidies; the role of demographic changes; the effec ....What are the determinants and effects of school choice? An international comparison between Australia and the UK. The project will provide a clearer picture of the determinants of school choice, most notably the impact of economic phenomena on that choice. For Australia, this will mean we have a better understanding of the competing explanations of the growth of students at private schools over the past three decades: the role of government subsidies; the role of demographic changes; the effects of increased income inequality; and the role of changes in preferences towards private schools. This information will provide a better evidence base for future policy development in this area.Read moreRead less
General Purpose Technologies, Complementarities and the Convergence of Industries: A Comparative Study of Information Technology, Biotechnology and Nanotechnology. Modern economies are being transformed by several waves of new, converging general purpose technologies such as information technology, biotechnology and nanotechnologies. This project will undertake a comparative analysis of four aspects of this process: the pattern of development and convergence, the extent of industry concentratio ....General Purpose Technologies, Complementarities and the Convergence of Industries: A Comparative Study of Information Technology, Biotechnology and Nanotechnology. Modern economies are being transformed by several waves of new, converging general purpose technologies such as information technology, biotechnology and nanotechnologies. This project will undertake a comparative analysis of four aspects of this process: the pattern of development and convergence, the extent of industry concentration of activity in particular regions, the implications for firm strategy and options for policy responses. The underlying objective is to provide a knowledge base for Australian firms and governments, to guide strategies to enable Australia to develop a competitive position in these emerging technologies and industries.Read moreRead less
Uncertainty and the success of innovation. This proposal outlines an empirically-oriented project, with strong conceptual foundations, that will add significantly to our understanding of the barriers to successful commercial exploitation of innovations in Australia. There is currently no other applied work in this area in Australia of this scope and empirical content. Our approach adopts a rigorous approach to the measurement of innovation and performance, and looks at the effect of uncertainty ....Uncertainty and the success of innovation. This proposal outlines an empirically-oriented project, with strong conceptual foundations, that will add significantly to our understanding of the barriers to successful commercial exploitation of innovations in Australia. There is currently no other applied work in this area in Australia of this scope and empirical content. Our approach adopts a rigorous approach to the measurement of innovation and performance, and looks at the effect of uncertainty on the relationship between the two. The results of this exercise will translate into both government and corporate policy.Read moreRead less
The evolution of Australian enterprises, 1990 to 2007 : An empirical analysis of the relationship between turbulence among firms, productivity, growth and exports. This project will examine determinants and effects of enterprise entry and exit on growth, export and productivity in Australian industry using innovative panel enterprise data sets which have been collated and linked from existing ABS surveys, administrative data and accounting data. Currently, there is only one short longitudinal en ....The evolution of Australian enterprises, 1990 to 2007 : An empirical analysis of the relationship between turbulence among firms, productivity, growth and exports. This project will examine determinants and effects of enterprise entry and exit on growth, export and productivity in Australian industry using innovative panel enterprise data sets which have been collated and linked from existing ABS surveys, administrative data and accounting data. Currently, there is only one short longitudinal enterprise data set in Australia. Further data sets are required if policy makers are to understand patterns and causes of growth and business survival in Australia. Understanding provided from these studies should significantly improve our undertanding of how businesses perform.Read moreRead less
Bargaining and the price of new pharmaceuticals in Australia: An empirical analysis. The proposed research will consider whether there is a trade-off between price and access and will identify features of the regulatory framework that contribute to delays in securing access to drugs for diseases with no alternative therapy. It will provide decision makers with the necessary information to negotiate the lowest achievable price for drugs, freeing up resources for use elsewhere in the health sector ....Bargaining and the price of new pharmaceuticals in Australia: An empirical analysis. The proposed research will consider whether there is a trade-off between price and access and will identify features of the regulatory framework that contribute to delays in securing access to drugs for diseases with no alternative therapy. It will provide decision makers with the necessary information to negotiate the lowest achievable price for drugs, freeing up resources for use elsewhere in the health sector or slowing the growth in healthcare expenditure.Read moreRead less
Growth, Trade, and Economic Development in Asia. Future growth in Asia has strong implications for growth, relative wages, skill levels, human capital accumulation and trade in Australia. This project seeks to gain insight into whether the high economic growth rates experienced in Asia will continue into the future and whether low income Asian countries will take off in the future. This information will be used to simulate future demand for skills, relative wages, trade and the incentives to inv ....Growth, Trade, and Economic Development in Asia. Future growth in Asia has strong implications for growth, relative wages, skill levels, human capital accumulation and trade in Australia. This project seeks to gain insight into whether the high economic growth rates experienced in Asia will continue into the future and whether low income Asian countries will take off in the future. This information will be used to simulate future demand for skills, relative wages, trade and the incentives to invest in Australia and give insight into the effects of various policies in Australia on educational decision, skill composition, relative wages, trade and growth.Read moreRead less
The Market for Technology in Australia. Over the last 5 years, formalised markets for technology have accelerated in the US. However, there is no recognised formal market in Australia. Results from our primary data collection and analysis will highlight whether deficiencies in the market for technology are creating obstacles for the commercialisation of Australian technology. This is a particularly important issue for Australia given our relative isolation arising from geographical distance and ....The Market for Technology in Australia. Over the last 5 years, formalised markets for technology have accelerated in the US. However, there is no recognised formal market in Australia. Results from our primary data collection and analysis will highlight whether deficiencies in the market for technology are creating obstacles for the commercialisation of Australian technology. This is a particularly important issue for Australia given our relative isolation arising from geographical distance and lack of attachment to a major trading bloc such as the EU or NAFTA.Read moreRead less
Evaluating Research Policy in Australian Broadacre Agriculture - Accounting for Interactions between the Beef, Sheep Meat, Wool, and Grains Industries. This project studies the returns from R&D investments in Australia's broadacre agricultural industries and equity in the funding of these investments. The contribution is to explicitly recognise the interaction across cattle, sheep and cropping enterprises, while past analyses have been single industry approach. Econometric models of multi-output ....Evaluating Research Policy in Australian Broadacre Agriculture - Accounting for Interactions between the Beef, Sheep Meat, Wool, and Grains Industries. This project studies the returns from R&D investments in Australia's broadacre agricultural industries and equity in the funding of these investments. The contribution is to explicitly recognise the interaction across cattle, sheep and cropping enterprises, while past analyses have been single industry approach. Econometric models of multi-output profit function for Australian broadacre agriculture and demand systems involving these products are estimated. A multi-industry equilibrium displacement model is developed to simulate the incidence of both costs and returns of agricultural R&D, with cross-industry interaction recognised. The project is likely to contribute to the way agricultural research is administered and funded in Australia.Read moreRead less
Scarcity of Ideas and Design of Optimal Incentive Schemes for Innovation. Since innovation is the driving force behind economic growth, enhancing its innovative capacity is an important consideration for Australia. From an economics point of view, this requires the design of optimal incentive schemes in the institutional structures which are central to promoting innovation. The proposed research aims to achieve exactly this by developing a definition of innovativeness and analyzing its implicati ....Scarcity of Ideas and Design of Optimal Incentive Schemes for Innovation. Since innovation is the driving force behind economic growth, enhancing its innovative capacity is an important consideration for Australia. From an economics point of view, this requires the design of optimal incentive schemes in the institutional structures which are central to promoting innovation. The proposed research aims to achieve exactly this by developing a definition of innovativeness and analyzing its implications. Its results will contribute to the policy discussions on innovation in Australia and will enhance the academic interactions between Australian and international universities.Read moreRead less
ARC Research Network for Economic Design. The Economic Design Network is a partnership of more than one hundred researchers and over forty international universities and research centres. The Network will support cross disciplinary research and policy innovation using state of the art techniques in economic theory and experimental economics. It will create practical policy tools that can be used to solve complex social and economic problems in industry economics, health economics and environment ....ARC Research Network for Economic Design. The Economic Design Network is a partnership of more than one hundred researchers and over forty international universities and research centres. The Network will support cross disciplinary research and policy innovation using state of the art techniques in economic theory and experimental economics. It will create practical policy tools that can be used to solve complex social and economic problems in industry economics, health economics and environmental policy. By linking Australian mid and early career researchers into multidisciplinary teams based around the world's top experimental economics laboratories, it will create a world class economic design capacity in Australia.Read moreRead less