Presumed Guilty: An Economics Analysis of the Efficiency of Environmental Bonds for the WA Mining Sector. Environmental bonds have two important economic effects. First they give an incentive for mining firms to manage environmental damage and second they prevent excessive costs falling on the regulator in the case of bankruptcy. The aim of this project is to assess if this policy can be redesigned to increase its economic efficiency.
Literacy and Numeracy, Schooling, Neighbourhoods and Labour Market Success. Our research will assess the role of literacy and numeracy in explaining the educational attainment and labour markets outcomes of young Australians, after accounting for background characteristics and school and neighbourhood effects. By exploiting differences in Australian jurisdictions? school structures, it will enable, for the first time, the direct estimation of the effect of schooling on literacy and numeracy. T ....Literacy and Numeracy, Schooling, Neighbourhoods and Labour Market Success. Our research will assess the role of literacy and numeracy in explaining the educational attainment and labour markets outcomes of young Australians, after accounting for background characteristics and school and neighbourhood effects. By exploiting differences in Australian jurisdictions? school structures, it will enable, for the first time, the direct estimation of the effect of schooling on literacy and numeracy. This will clarify the role of literacy and numeracy in subsequent decisions to acquire more human capital through education. This will enable more precise estimates of the contribution of literacy and numeracy to subsequent labour market outcomes achieved by young Australians.Read moreRead less
Work-related Training in Australia. The proposal will improve our understanding of the relationship between work-related training and wage formation, wage growth and inequality in Australia. It will contribute to a better-informed public debate about how to make Australia a knowledge-based economy and will ultimately improve economic policies that are relevant to skills acquisition. This has the potential to have a significant impact on the economic well-being and quality of life of many individ ....Work-related Training in Australia. The proposal will improve our understanding of the relationship between work-related training and wage formation, wage growth and inequality in Australia. It will contribute to a better-informed public debate about how to make Australia a knowledge-based economy and will ultimately improve economic policies that are relevant to skills acquisition. This has the potential to have a significant impact on the economic well-being and quality of life of many individuals and households in the economy, thereby contributing to the National Research Priorities, especially 'Strengthening Australia's Social and Economic Fabric'. Read moreRead less
Living on the Margin: The Relationship between Mental Health and Work in Australia. This project will assess the relationship between Australians' mental health and their work, for example, employment status, work conditions and hours. The study is the first to exploit the detailed timing of mental health and employment transitions to identify whether poor labour market outcomes lead to poor mental health or whether the reverse is true. New Australian data will be used to understand whether the ....Living on the Margin: The Relationship between Mental Health and Work in Australia. This project will assess the relationship between Australians' mental health and their work, for example, employment status, work conditions and hours. The study is the first to exploit the detailed timing of mental health and employment transitions to identify whether poor labour market outcomes lead to poor mental health or whether the reverse is true. New Australian data will be used to understand whether the link between mental health and work adds to the economic vulnerability of families and those at risk of homelessness. The results will advance our understanding of the way that mental health affects overall economic well-being and will inform current policy initiatives to promote economic participation and good mental health.Read moreRead less
Microeconometric Analysis of Socioeconomic Inequity in Mental Healthcare. The project aims to describe the extent of socioeconomic inequity in Australian mental healthcare use, identify the causal pathways that drive inequities, and conduct economic evaluations of programs aimed at increasing healthcare access. Microeconometric methods will be used to analyse large, longitudinal datasets that have not previously been used for this purpose. The project expects to provide a greater understanding o ....Microeconometric Analysis of Socioeconomic Inequity in Mental Healthcare. The project aims to describe the extent of socioeconomic inequity in Australian mental healthcare use, identify the causal pathways that drive inequities, and conduct economic evaluations of programs aimed at increasing healthcare access. Microeconometric methods will be used to analyse large, longitudinal datasets that have not previously been used for this purpose. The project expects to provide a greater understanding of the barriers that people face in accessing treatment and how to overcome them. Such understanding is currently missing from academic literatures and policy inquiries. Ultimately, the research should aid in the design of cost-effective policies that improve health outcomes and that reduce inequities in treatment access.Read moreRead less
Non-cognitive skills and human capital investments: the importance of individuals' sense of control. This project investigates whether people's sense of control over their lives influences their decision to get an education, do job training, migrate, or adopt a healthy lifestyle. The results are important in helping policymakers to understand why some individuals work harder than others to ensure good outcomes for themselves.
Understanding and Improving Teacher Quality. The quality of Australia's schooling system is a key determinant of skills in the economy, affecting economic growth, unemployment and inequality. With 3 percent of GDP currently devoted to primary and secondary education, improving educational productivity could lead to enormous gains. International evidence suggests that a promising approach to improving our education system is to boost teacher quality, yet we currently know little about the differe ....Understanding and Improving Teacher Quality. The quality of Australia's schooling system is a key determinant of skills in the economy, affecting economic growth, unemployment and inequality. With 3 percent of GDP currently devoted to primary and secondary education, improving educational productivity could lead to enormous gains. International evidence suggests that a promising approach to improving our education system is to boost teacher quality, yet we currently know little about the differences between the best and worst teachers. With large numbers of teachers due to retire in the next decade, now is an ideal time to learn more about teacher quality, and implement policies to ensure that the calibre of the teaching profession is as good as it can be.Read moreRead less
Self-control in Economic Behaviour. This project aims to use new Australian data to study the way that people’s self-control affects their economic behaviour. This project expects to advance science by testing two new ways of identifying whether people understand their own self-control issues and conducting an innovative program of research that links people’s self-control to their life chances. Expected outcomes include an understanding of i) the factors driving the capacity for self-control; i ....Self-control in Economic Behaviour. This project aims to use new Australian data to study the way that people’s self-control affects their economic behaviour. This project expects to advance science by testing two new ways of identifying whether people understand their own self-control issues and conducting an innovative program of research that links people’s self-control to their life chances. Expected outcomes include an understanding of i) the factors driving the capacity for self-control; ii) the role of self-control in promoting wellbeing; and iii) policy options for improving outcomes through better self-control. This should provide significant benefits in supporting policy agendas such as the Government’s Priority Investment Approach and behavioural economics teams. Read moreRead less
Labour market transitions and dynamics in Australia: An analysis of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey. As stated in the National Research Priorities, 'in the decade ahead, it will be vital to understand and support the drivers for workforce participation and the broader social and economic trends influencing Australian families and communities'. Improving our understanding of these drivers is the main objective of this project. Specifically, the outcomes from this pro ....Labour market transitions and dynamics in Australia: An analysis of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey. As stated in the National Research Priorities, 'in the decade ahead, it will be vital to understand and support the drivers for workforce participation and the broader social and economic trends influencing Australian families and communities'. Improving our understanding of these drivers is the main objective of this project. Specifically, the outcomes from this project will result in a richer comprehension of the interaction between the social safety net and economic participation, and especially labour force participation. This research will thus directly support the Government's welfare reform and participation agendas, and thus should feed into improved policy decision-making, especially in the areas of employment and income support.Read moreRead less
Private Health Insurance and Utilisation of Health Care in Australia. The breakdown of activity between the Australian public and private health sectors is currently subject to considerable scrutiny. The combination of a comprehensive public system with minimal co-payments, but considerable waiting times for some treatment, and a private system with minimal waiting but sizeable co-payments has interesting economic implications for both consumer and provider behaviour. This research project will ....Private Health Insurance and Utilisation of Health Care in Australia. The breakdown of activity between the Australian public and private health sectors is currently subject to considerable scrutiny. The combination of a comprehensive public system with minimal co-payments, but considerable waiting times for some treatment, and a private system with minimal waiting but sizeable co-payments has interesting economic implications for both consumer and provider behaviour. This research project will explore the relationship between insurance status and utilisation of health care in Australia. Because insurance reduces the out-of-pocket price for consumers, they tend to purchase more care than they would without insurance.Read moreRead less