The paradox of choice: Unravelling complex superannuation decisions. Australia has been a world-leader in retirement savings policy, but there remains a pervasive lack of understanding about how best to communicate complex financial information to decision-makers, along with a push by government for clearer disclosure and greater financial literacy. This project will inform regulators and the superannuation industry on how choices are made and how to present clearer, better-designed information ....The paradox of choice: Unravelling complex superannuation decisions. Australia has been a world-leader in retirement savings policy, but there remains a pervasive lack of understanding about how best to communicate complex financial information to decision-makers, along with a push by government for clearer disclosure and greater financial literacy. This project will inform regulators and the superannuation industry on how choices are made and how to present clearer, better-designed information to be understood by ordinary participants, thus encouraging active, well-informed participation rather than passive 'default' decisions. More efficient investment and benefit choices will improve the economic welfare of retirees, reduce the burden on the working-age population and improve fiscal sustainability.Read moreRead less
Political economy of distortions to global agricultural markets. Farmers, agribusiness and governments in Australia and other food-exporting nations have put enormous efforts into seeking reductions in agricultural protectionism, particularly in the past two decades via the Cairns Group in GATT/WTO negotiations but also in bilateral and regional integration initiatives. Yet levels of protection have fallen little for agriculture relative to manufacturing in high-income countries, and in some new ....Political economy of distortions to global agricultural markets. Farmers, agribusiness and governments in Australia and other food-exporting nations have put enormous efforts into seeking reductions in agricultural protectionism, particularly in the past two decades via the Cairns Group in GATT/WTO negotiations but also in bilateral and regional integration initiatives. Yet levels of protection have fallen little for agriculture relative to manufacturing in high-income countries, and in some newly industrializing countries that indicator has been rising. Improving our understanding as to why that is the case will ensure Australia gets a better return from its investment in that area of commercial diplomacy.Read moreRead less
Globalization, WTO and sustainable development: new challenges, opportunities and implications for Australia. Australia is benefiting greatly from opening its economy and encouraging the same in its trading partners, particularly through the World Trade Organization (WTO). A major new challenge is to ensure that the WTO continues to enhance economic welfare by responding to recent criticisms levelled at it by anti-globalization groups. This project will analyse those groups' claims about the eff ....Globalization, WTO and sustainable development: new challenges, opportunities and implications for Australia. Australia is benefiting greatly from opening its economy and encouraging the same in its trading partners, particularly through the World Trade Organization (WTO). A major new challenge is to ensure that the WTO continues to enhance economic welfare by responding to recent criticisms levelled at it by anti-globalization groups. This project will analyse those groups' claims about the effects of trade and investment policy reforms, and of WTO rules and other contributors to globalization, by going beyond the traditional economic effects to examine effects on income distribution, poverty alleviation, the environment, labour, and food safety and security.Read moreRead less
Trade and investment in the face of declining international cooperation. This project aims to investigate the impact and policy implications of trade and investment policies in a world trade system facing increasing uncertainty. The project intends to gain an improved understanding of investment regulations like Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) agreements and their impact on trade and foreign direct investment. Expected outcomes include new theories for the breakdown of international agr ....Trade and investment in the face of declining international cooperation. This project aims to investigate the impact and policy implications of trade and investment policies in a world trade system facing increasing uncertainty. The project intends to gain an improved understanding of investment regulations like Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) agreements and their impact on trade and foreign direct investment. Expected outcomes include new theories for the breakdown of international agreements and their effects on third world countries as well as empirical methods that allow for a quantification of the welfare and employment effects of investment policies like ISDS. This project should provide benefits by informing government policy makers to improve Australia’s trade and investment policies.Read moreRead less
The impact of globalisation on inequality in a small regional economy: South Australia 1845-1925. The impact of globalisation on income inequality is currently of great concern to many. Globalisation, however, is not a new phenomenon. This study examines the effect of global forces on wage and personal wealth inequality in South Australia in the 19th and early 20th century. While other studies have examined the impact of trade on inequality at an aggregate level, using questionable comparisons, ....The impact of globalisation on inequality in a small regional economy: South Australia 1845-1925. The impact of globalisation on income inequality is currently of great concern to many. Globalisation, however, is not a new phenomenon. This study examines the effect of global forces on wage and personal wealth inequality in South Australia in the 19th and early 20th century. While other studies have examined the impact of trade on inequality at an aggregate level, using questionable comparisons, this study represents a conceptual leap forward by directly estimating changes in income and wealth inequality, and their association with changes in wages, commodity and asset prices over an extended period in a small regional economy.Read moreRead less
Increasing confidence in Australian carbon disclosures. This project aims to investigate whether carbon disclosures made by Australian resource firms are less than actual emissions (i.e., carbonwashing) using satellite imagery technology. New knowledge will be generated by triangulating carbonwashing information against firm data, such as valuation, other disclosures, and hiring practices, to understand if and how carbonwashing impacts firm values and organisational controls. Expected outcomes i ....Increasing confidence in Australian carbon disclosures. This project aims to investigate whether carbon disclosures made by Australian resource firms are less than actual emissions (i.e., carbonwashing) using satellite imagery technology. New knowledge will be generated by triangulating carbonwashing information against firm data, such as valuation, other disclosures, and hiring practices, to understand if and how carbonwashing impacts firm values and organisational controls. Expected outcomes include improved ways to detect carbonwashing and its relationship to management control weaknesses, benefiting all stakeholders (including investors and regulators) in supporting government-proposed reforms to the Australian Safeguard Mechanism in instilling confidence in Australian carbon disclosures.Read moreRead less
Option pricing via path integrals: a new perspective. The risk management of derivative securities is a very exciting challenge for financial market researchers. The knowledge base resulting from this proposal will benefit both large financial institutions and Australia's financial system by creating a more competitive and efficient economic environment, which will inevitably lead to more gross domestic product (GDP) gains.Furthermore a large amount of software and numerical analysis work to be ....Option pricing via path integrals: a new perspective. The risk management of derivative securities is a very exciting challenge for financial market researchers. The knowledge base resulting from this proposal will benefit both large financial institutions and Australia's financial system by creating a more competitive and efficient economic environment, which will inevitably lead to more gross domestic product (GDP) gains.Furthermore a large amount of software and numerical analysis work to be developed during the project can be turned into IP for Australia. This will contribute to catalysing development of internationally competitive financial risk management software industry.Read moreRead less
ARC Financial Integrity Research Network. The integrity of the financial system is constantly under stress because of the development of ever more complex financial instruments, structures and strategies, and the associated research technologies that continues to accelerate worldwide. FIRN's vision is to harness the considerable strengths of Australia's internationally renowned finance, accounting and economics researchers into a research agenda to address issues concerning the integrity of the ....ARC Financial Integrity Research Network. The integrity of the financial system is constantly under stress because of the development of ever more complex financial instruments, structures and strategies, and the associated research technologies that continues to accelerate worldwide. FIRN's vision is to harness the considerable strengths of Australia's internationally renowned finance, accounting and economics researchers into a research agenda to address issues concerning the integrity of the financial system. It will enable Australian research in this area to match the scale and impact of similar research in other major international financial centres, and play an essential role in placing Australia among the world's leaders in financial markets related research.Read moreRead less
Risk Measures and Management in Finance and Actuarial Science Under Regime-Switching Models. New models for assessing and managing risk of financial products will place Australia at the forefront of risk management. The work will also sustain the competitive edge of Australia as one of the major financial centres in the Asia-Pacific region through enhancing both the theory and practice of financial risk management. The project outcome will also benefit to the country in other areas of risk, for ....Risk Measures and Management in Finance and Actuarial Science Under Regime-Switching Models. New models for assessing and managing risk of financial products will place Australia at the forefront of risk management. The work will also sustain the competitive edge of Australia as one of the major financial centres in the Asia-Pacific region through enhancing both the theory and practice of financial risk management. The project outcome will also benefit to the country in other areas of risk, for example, environment risk, climate change, and energy and security problems.Read moreRead less
Consequences of water reform and changing farm adaptation in the Basin. This project aims to evaluate the consequences of, and lessons learned from, the past two decades of water reform in the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB). In particular, it will examine the recent economic and farm consequences of water recovery. Australia is over halfway through implementation of the MDB Plan, and has spent over $6 billion in water recovery to achieve basin-wide resilience, with billions more still committed. Pro ....Consequences of water reform and changing farm adaptation in the Basin. This project aims to evaluate the consequences of, and lessons learned from, the past two decades of water reform in the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB). In particular, it will examine the recent economic and farm consequences of water recovery. Australia is over halfway through implementation of the MDB Plan, and has spent over $6 billion in water recovery to achieve basin-wide resilience, with billions more still committed. Project expected outcomes include pioneering new methods to track how MDB irrigation efficiency, productivity and other farm outcomes have changed as a response to water reform. It will also draw lessons from both national and international case studies to consequently inform more effective water management.Read moreRead less