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
New Econometric Evidence on the Roles of Socio-Economic Characteristics and Lifestyle Choices in Determining Child and Adult Health Outcomes. This research is directly relevant to the National Research Priority 'Promoting and Maintaining Good Health'. It will provide detailed information on issues such as the extent of socio-economic differentials in child and adult health, the role of income redistribution in reducing health inequalities, the effectiveness of the national health system in prote ....New Econometric Evidence on the Roles of Socio-Economic Characteristics and Lifestyle Choices in Determining Child and Adult Health Outcomes. This research is directly relevant to the National Research Priority 'Promoting and Maintaining Good Health'. It will provide detailed information on issues such as the extent of socio-economic differentials in child and adult health, the role of income redistribution in reducing health inequalities, the effectiveness of the national health system in protecting the health of children from the poorest families, and the role of lifestyle choices in determining health outcomes. Attention will be paid to the effects of alcohol consumption, smoking, exercise and diet in the context of adult and childhood obesity. There will also be new insights on the relative importance of 'nature' versus 'nurture' in determining child health.Read moreRead less
Policy-Related Lessons from the Econometric Analysis of Life Satisfaction Data in Australia. Our analyses will provide important information to policy-makers aiming to design policies that improve Australia's economic and social fabric. In particular, we will inform on the response of Australians to major life-events such as unemployment, ill-health or marital dissolution, but also exogenous shocks including drought and terrorism. Major focus will be on differentiating the determinants of life s ....Policy-Related Lessons from the Econometric Analysis of Life Satisfaction Data in Australia. Our analyses will provide important information to policy-makers aiming to design policies that improve Australia's economic and social fabric. In particular, we will inform on the response of Australians to major life-events such as unemployment, ill-health or marital dissolution, but also exogenous shocks including drought and terrorism. Major focus will be on differentiating the determinants of life satisfaction between rural and urban communities in Australia, and investigating the response of these communities to drought conditions. Moreover, we believe that a detailed international comparison using German and UK data will provide unique evidence on the relative quality of life in Australia and the role of culture and institutions. Read moreRead less
Why poorer students are less likely to go to university: Theoretical and empirical evidence for Australia with implications for policy. This project will improve our understanding of the factors that lead to the under-representation of low income students in universities in Australia and other countries. The focus of the analysis will be the impact of a student's family and household environment and innate ability on their school performance, an essential pre-requisite for university admission, ....Why poorer students are less likely to go to university: Theoretical and empirical evidence for Australia with implications for policy. This project will improve our understanding of the factors that lead to the under-representation of low income students in universities in Australia and other countries. The focus of the analysis will be the impact of a student's family and household environment and innate ability on their school performance, an essential pre-requisite for university admission, together with the costs of university education. Identifying the relative importance of these factors in determining educational success will enable families, schools, universities and educational policy-makers to improve opportunities for high ability students from all socioeconomic backgrounds. This will in turn enhance economic growth and productivity, benefiting all Australians.Read moreRead less
Monetary-fiscal policy interactions and their effect on economic performance: new theory, empirics, and an application to Australia. Both fiscal and monetary policy are powerful tools that affect the wellbeing of individuals. Even if current policies are 'responsible', the social cost of uncertainty about the future is extremely high - to which the 2004 'high interest rates under Labour' election campaign or current heated fiscal debates in the US and EU testify. Our analysis will contribute to ....Monetary-fiscal policy interactions and their effect on economic performance: new theory, empirics, and an application to Australia. Both fiscal and monetary policy are powerful tools that affect the wellbeing of individuals. Even if current policies are 'responsible', the social cost of uncertainty about the future is extremely high - to which the 2004 'high interest rates under Labour' election campaign or current heated fiscal debates in the US and EU testify. Our analysis will contribute to the reduction of the social cost by identifying the institutional setting that is robust to 'bad' policymakers, i.e. one in which socially optimal policies are 'institutionalized' (legislated) rather than resting with individuals. Such arrangements are further likely to stimulate investment and economic growth.Read moreRead less
Understanding the Saving Behaviour of Australian Households: Private Retirement Provision and the Policy of Forced Saving. The outcomes from the research on Australian retirement saving behaviour will generate a range of national benefits. First, the collaboration of researchers across institutions, and internationally, will enhance and promote Australian research skills. Second, Australian research will be will be placed at the forefront of an important, international field. Third, the research ....Understanding the Saving Behaviour of Australian Households: Private Retirement Provision and the Policy of Forced Saving. The outcomes from the research on Australian retirement saving behaviour will generate a range of national benefits. First, the collaboration of researchers across institutions, and internationally, will enhance and promote Australian research skills. Second, Australian research will be will be placed at the forefront of an important, international field. Third, the research will make fundamental contributions to the evidence base for the design of public policies to ensure Australians have access to adequate resources in retirement. This is an urgent public policy concern due to the rapid ageing of the Australian population: the fraction aged over 65 years is forecast to double from 10% to 20% over the next 40 years.Read moreRead less
Privatisation, Regulation and Institutional Structures of Airports: An International Study. Airports are typically locational monopolies possessing strong market power - abuse of this is controlled by public ownership, regulation or not-for-profit operation. All these pose problems for achieving economic efficiency while meeting environmental standards. Design of efficient regulation, and the Australian experiment with price monitored private airports, will be analysed. Using data from Austr ....Privatisation, Regulation and Institutional Structures of Airports: An International Study. Airports are typically locational monopolies possessing strong market power - abuse of this is controlled by public ownership, regulation or not-for-profit operation. All these pose problems for achieving economic efficiency while meeting environmental standards. Design of efficient regulation, and the Australian experiment with price monitored private airports, will be analysed. Using data from Australian and overseas airports, the performance of airports operating under the alternative systems will be evaluated, enabling an assessment of performance and privatisation; a comparison of private, public and not-for-profit systems; and pointing out how better governance options can be designed.Read moreRead less
The Role of the Family in Facilitating the Human Capital and Labour Market Investments of Young Australians. A nation's future lies in its young people, and society as a whole must take part in ensuring that today's youth acquire the skills, experience, and training necessary not only to cope, but to thrive. The proposed research will make a substantial step forward in understanding how families make decisions about supporting their young adult children and how those decisions are shaped by Aust ....The Role of the Family in Facilitating the Human Capital and Labour Market Investments of Young Australians. A nation's future lies in its young people, and society as a whole must take part in ensuring that today's youth acquire the skills, experience, and training necessary not only to cope, but to thrive. The proposed research will make a substantial step forward in understanding how families make decisions about supporting their young adult children and how those decisions are shaped by Australian social policy. The findings will inform social policy development by providing evidence on pressing issues such as the effects of rising house prices or weakening labour markets on young Australians' ability to invest in education.Read moreRead less
Understanding the Labour Market for Professional Nurses: An Economic Analysis of Skill Shortages, Nurse Retention and Turnover. There is currently a worldwide shortage of nurses. This shortage is particularly acute in a number of publicly dominated health care systems including the Australian, British and Canadian systems. Given that nurses are a key input in the production of health care and therefore health, the need to address this issue by increasing the number of school-leavers entering the ....Understanding the Labour Market for Professional Nurses: An Economic Analysis of Skill Shortages, Nurse Retention and Turnover. There is currently a worldwide shortage of nurses. This shortage is particularly acute in a number of publicly dominated health care systems including the Australian, British and Canadian systems. Given that nurses are a key input in the production of health care and therefore health, the need to address this issue by increasing the number of school-leavers entering the profession and/or improving the retention of training nurses is of paramount importance. This project will use high quality cross-sectional and longitudinal data on nurses to provide a detailed investigation of the retention and turnover behaviour of nurses and inform the policy debate.Read moreRead less
Tackling the Tough Problems in Productivity Measurement: Infrastructure, Services and R&D. Productivity is seen as a main driver of economic growth and welfare improvements. Productivity indexes are used in a variety of policy contexts, in particular in determining the effectiveness (or otherwise) of government policies. Most industrialized countries have productivity accounts, but measurement problems persist and may even be more problematic in the future given an expansion in new goods and ser ....Tackling the Tough Problems in Productivity Measurement: Infrastructure, Services and R&D. Productivity is seen as a main driver of economic growth and welfare improvements. Productivity indexes are used in a variety of policy contexts, in particular in determining the effectiveness (or otherwise) of government policies. Most industrialized countries have productivity accounts, but measurement problems persist and may even be more problematic in the future given an expansion in new goods and services. Improved productivity measurement and an improved understanding of its sources can inform aggregate and regional policy. The project includes collaboration with the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Productivity Commission, with the participation of the Reserve Bank of Australia.Read moreRead less