Heterogeneity, Wage Inequality, Unemployment, and Economic Growth. This project would provide the first internally consistent theory of wage inequality, unemployment and economic growth - and the roles that government policy variables play in determining them. It would use and extend frontier developments in theory, and identify the settings of policy variables (unemployment insurance, tax structures, education policies) that maximise social welfare, given that governments must satisfy their bud ....Heterogeneity, Wage Inequality, Unemployment, and Economic Growth. This project would provide the first internally consistent theory of wage inequality, unemployment and economic growth - and the roles that government policy variables play in determining them. It would use and extend frontier developments in theory, and identify the settings of policy variables (unemployment insurance, tax structures, education policies) that maximise social welfare, given that governments must satisfy their budget constraints. It also aims to uncover the relationship between the innate abilities of workers and their education choices - and the consequences for macro economies and public policy.Read moreRead less
Investigating imprecision in preferences and its possible consequences for economics and economic choices. When people's preferences are not clear, their choices become variable and susceptible to theoretically irrelevant influences. Examples can be found in surveys of preferences intended to inform public policy in areas such as health, safety and the environment. Understanding the nature of imprecision in people's values and choices is also likely to be crucial for consumers' ability to advan ....Investigating imprecision in preferences and its possible consequences for economics and economic choices. When people's preferences are not clear, their choices become variable and susceptible to theoretically irrelevant influences. Examples can be found in surveys of preferences intended to inform public policy in areas such as health, safety and the environment. Understanding the nature of imprecision in people's values and choices is also likely to be crucial for consumers' ability to advance their interests in our complex, choice-filled society. We plan to draw out some of the implications of our experimental work on preference imprecision for consumer behaviour and existing business practices, including the regulation of fair trading.Read moreRead less
Choice and Classification in complex and adversarial environments. Any policy must take account of individuals' incentives to strategically manipulate. Mechanism Design is an area of economic theory that addresses precisely this. In its theoretical development however, it overlooks practical constraints for monitoring behavior. For instance, for fraud detection and credit scoring, automated statistical machine learning models discussed in computer science (CS) are used. Here, we constrain ....Choice and Classification in complex and adversarial environments. Any policy must take account of individuals' incentives to strategically manipulate. Mechanism Design is an area of economic theory that addresses precisely this. In its theoretical development however, it overlooks practical constraints for monitoring behavior. For instance, for fraud detection and credit scoring, automated statistical machine learning models discussed in computer science (CS) are used. Here, we constrain monitoring strategies to be such algorithms and address the monitoring of a population of individuals or a similarly constrained large adversary. Notable cross disciplinary implications exist forRead moreRead less
Social Network Analysis: Social Media, Peer Effects and the Environment. The aims of this proposal are to better understand the role of networks in different activities such as social media, education, crime and environment-friendly behaviour. The project expects to help inform the design and practice of policies for education and environmental authorities, police and media markets. Social networks are pervasive in Australia. The project tackles issues of criminal gangs in Australian cities, the ....Social Network Analysis: Social Media, Peer Effects and the Environment. The aims of this proposal are to better understand the role of networks in different activities such as social media, education, crime and environment-friendly behaviour. The project expects to help inform the design and practice of policies for education and environmental authorities, police and media markets. Social networks are pervasive in Australia. The project tackles issues of criminal gangs in Australian cities, the political system and environment-friendly behaviours. This project is at the frontier of work in the economics of networks, with expected outcomes to include new models and methods to better understand the impact of social networks. Benefits include clear policy recommendations to improve welfare in Australian society.Read moreRead less
Strategic Thought and Prediction in Strategic Environments. Game theory is now an integral tool for economics and business. It helps predict behavior in strategic environments and thus answers important questions: What form of auction to use in the pending sale of 3G spectrum? How should the government sell its bonds? How to detect implict collusion among companies? What division of benefits of joint research ventures will attract maximum participation?
This project aims to greatly increas ....Strategic Thought and Prediction in Strategic Environments. Game theory is now an integral tool for economics and business. It helps predict behavior in strategic environments and thus answers important questions: What form of auction to use in the pending sale of 3G spectrum? How should the government sell its bonds? How to detect implict collusion among companies? What division of benefits of joint research ventures will attract maximum participation?
This project aims to greatly increase the predictive power of game theory and provide decisive answers to questions such as above. This is achieved by developing a theory that relates individuals' current behavior to their experiences in analogous environments in the past.
Read moreRead less
Linear and non-linear Price Decentralization. General equilibrium theory provides the conceptual foundation for our understanding of efficiency and welfare economics. However, at present it does not provide for an adequate understanding in many seetings: for instance, in the case of incomplete financial markets and markets with imperfect information. This project is part of the ongoing and broad research program in the Economic Theory Center of The University of Melbourne on general equilibriu ....Linear and non-linear Price Decentralization. General equilibrium theory provides the conceptual foundation for our understanding of efficiency and welfare economics. However, at present it does not provide for an adequate understanding in many seetings: for instance, in the case of incomplete financial markets and markets with imperfect information. This project is part of the ongoing and broad research program in the Economic Theory Center of The University of Melbourne on general equilibrium theory and mathematical economics. It seeks to extend the classical theory of price decentralization and rectify some of the defects of modern general equilibrium theory.Read moreRead less
Productivity, growth and unemployment in economies with frictions. This project aims to examine decisions driving productivity, growth, and unemployment in macroeconomies with frictions. It examines how government (fiscal, monetary, and education) policies determine these decisions, and identifies the best configurations of these policies. It will construct dynamic general equilibrium models of economies to analyse the causal structure behind productivity changes, growth and unemployment. It wil ....Productivity, growth and unemployment in economies with frictions. This project aims to examine decisions driving productivity, growth, and unemployment in macroeconomies with frictions. It examines how government (fiscal, monetary, and education) policies determine these decisions, and identifies the best configurations of these policies. It will construct dynamic general equilibrium models of economies to analyse the causal structure behind productivity changes, growth and unemployment. It will conduct quantitative experiments using simulations, to estimate optimal government policy design settings. This project expects to identify policies that promote productivity, growth and employment.Read moreRead less
Games and decisions with bounded rationality: theory and economic implications. This project will develop concepts and tools for decision making in complex environments, where it is impossible to fully characterise the possible outcomes and factors that may affect them. A central goal will be to integrate heuristic rules such as the precautionary principle with the more formal approach adopted in benefit-cost analysis.
Banking System Competition and the Macro-economy. Australia has one of the most concentrated banking sectors in the world, generating concerns regarding its efficiency. This project aims to develop unified frameworks to understand and evaluate quantitatively how the structure of the banking industry affects the macro-economy and provide policy recommendations for establishing a healthy and efficient banking industry. This project expects to improve understanding of the welfare trade-off between ....Banking System Competition and the Macro-economy. Australia has one of the most concentrated banking sectors in the world, generating concerns regarding its efficiency. This project aims to develop unified frameworks to understand and evaluate quantitatively how the structure of the banking industry affects the macro-economy and provide policy recommendations for establishing a healthy and efficient banking industry. This project expects to improve understanding of the welfare trade-off between bank competition and economic well-being to enable policymakers to better determine the optimal concentration of banking sector in Australia. This will enhance the productivity and international competitiveness of Australia’s financial system and the broader economy.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170101183
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$322,404.00
Summary
Information sharing in networks and the allocation of medical appointments. The project aims to research social networks and the normative allocation of invisible goods. It will study information sharing in social networks and the allocation of consultant led appointments to patients. This project is intended to benefit society, public policy and health by showing how social networks’ design options affect users’ welfare and the network owner’s revenue.