Economic modelling for Australia and the USA: forecasts, policy analysis and comparative studies of technology and labour market adjustment. This project involves: a fundamental overhaul of MONASH, a widely used detailed dynamic model of the Australian economy; the creation of MONASH-USA for the United States; and several model-based Australia/US comparisons. MONASH's database and parameters will be updated, and its theoretical specification improved. MONASH-USA will be an advance over existing ....Economic modelling for Australia and the USA: forecasts, policy analysis and comparative studies of technology and labour market adjustment. This project involves: a fundamental overhaul of MONASH, a widely used detailed dynamic model of the Australian economy; the creation of MONASH-USA for the United States; and several model-based Australia/US comparisons. MONASH's database and parameters will be updated, and its theoretical specification improved. MONASH-USA will be an advance over existing US models and will generate policy results of interest both in the United States and Australia. MONASH-USA will have an excellent database and is likely to produce insights on parameter estimation. These will be applicable in Australia. Together, MONASH and MONASH-USA will facilitate comparative studies of technology and labour-market performance.Read moreRead less
Estimating the impact of fiscal stimulus on household expenditure. This project aims to measure the impact on household expenditure of unexpected government bonus payments. Precise measures of this parameter can help improve fiscal policy in Australia and overseas, whilst giving researchers a more precise understanding of how households react to unexpected increases in disposable income. This research will also make a methodological contribution, since we will be using a research methodology not ....Estimating the impact of fiscal stimulus on household expenditure. This project aims to measure the impact on household expenditure of unexpected government bonus payments. Precise measures of this parameter can help improve fiscal policy in Australia and overseas, whilst giving researchers a more precise understanding of how households react to unexpected increases in disposable income. This research will also make a methodological contribution, since we will be using a research methodology not previously implemented in Australia, which is to exploit the random timing of payments across households, combined with a unique household-level panel dataset on weekly expenditure. The project will compare results using this approach with results from other strategies, such as surveys and time series analysis.Read moreRead less
Assessing the Social and Fiscal Policy Implications of an Ageing Population. The 2002 Treasury Inter-Generational Report predicted major social and fiscal challenges during the next 40 years as a result of population ageing. Unlike Europe, the US and Canada, Australia has not yet developed the modelling tools to help it assess the current and future distributional consequences of the required forthcoming changes in social and fiscal policy. This project will develop the necessary modelling infra ....Assessing the Social and Fiscal Policy Implications of an Ageing Population. The 2002 Treasury Inter-Generational Report predicted major social and fiscal challenges during the next 40 years as a result of population ageing. Unlike Europe, the US and Canada, Australia has not yet developed the modelling tools to help it assess the current and future distributional consequences of the required forthcoming changes in social and fiscal policy. This project will develop the necessary modelling infrastructure for the Commonwealth and for Australia. It will create a sophisticated decision support capacity that can be used to assess the long-term impact of policy change and the likely future retirement incomes and other characteristics of Australians.Read moreRead less
Estimating the impact of fiscal stimulus on household expenditure. The tax bonus payments of the $42 billion Nation Building and Jobs Plan were among the largest fiscal policy packages in the developed world. This project applies a new methodology to estimate the short-term impact of this cash handout on consumer spending, allowing better modelling of the Australian economy.
An Integrated Approach to the Timing of Retirement: Life Cycle, Labour Force Heterogeneity, Financial Status and Public Support. This project will generate new knowledge on household decision making over retirement timing. National benefits will be generated through improved institutional design and policy formulation, which in turn will promote a labour market conducive to increased mature-age participation. The project involves collaboration across several institutions and will contribute to t ....An Integrated Approach to the Timing of Retirement: Life Cycle, Labour Force Heterogeneity, Financial Status and Public Support. This project will generate new knowledge on household decision making over retirement timing. National benefits will be generated through improved institutional design and policy formulation, which in turn will promote a labour market conducive to increased mature-age participation. The project involves collaboration across several institutions and will contribute to the development of research expertise through the training of PhDs and research assistants, creating a critical threshold of integrated research into ageing. This will facilitate a world-class presence in this important domain, thus contributing directly to the National Research Priority of Ageing Well, Ageing Productively.Read moreRead less
The Labour Supply and Saving of Older Australians: Behavioural Responses and Economic Impact. This project aims to enhance our understanding of the economic impacts of labour force participation and saving behaviour of those in the retirement "window" (55-65 years), through econometric investigation, economy-wide modelling, and stochastic simulation. Such analysis is important because demographic transition is triggering volatile change in retirement related policies. Neither saving behaviour un ....The Labour Supply and Saving of Older Australians: Behavioural Responses and Economic Impact. This project aims to enhance our understanding of the economic impacts of labour force participation and saving behaviour of those in the retirement "window" (55-65 years), through econometric investigation, economy-wide modelling, and stochastic simulation. Such analysis is important because demographic transition is triggering volatile change in retirement related policies. Neither saving behaviour under a mandatory retirement saving regime nor labour supply in the retirement window is well understood. Aggregate labour supply and saving response to policy change have major implications for both government obligations and market efficiency. The outcomes of the project are thus expected to better inform policy formulation.Read moreRead less
How does alcohol sponsorship of sport affect drinking behaviour and attitudes in at risk youth? Implications for public policy and the sport industry. This project responds to national and international research priorities by examining the controversial association between sponsorship of sport by alcohol brands and consumption behaviour in target youth and sportspeople. The research is large scale and multidisciplinary, and will impact policy development and the business of sport in Australia.
Job vacancies in Australia. The objective of this project is to improve understanding of available measures of job vacancies in the Australian economy, and how those measures can be applied to study the operation of the labour market and in forecasting macroeconomic outcomes. It will increase knowledge about the appropriate use of alternative measures of vacancies, and how those measures have been affected by changes to methods of job search and hiring with the advent of the internet and labour ....Job vacancies in Australia. The objective of this project is to improve understanding of available measures of job vacancies in the Australian economy, and how those measures can be applied to study the operation of the labour market and in forecasting macroeconomic outcomes. It will increase knowledge about the appropriate use of alternative measures of vacancies, and how those measures have been affected by changes to methods of job search and hiring with the advent of the internet and labour hire agencies. The significance of the project derives from the important role of measures of vacancies in labour market and macroeconomic analysis in Australia.Read moreRead less
Ending long-term homelessness permanently: How to make effective links between housing and long-term support. Australian services for homeless people typically provide short to medium-term assistance and accommodation. This approach struggles to meet the complex needs of the long-term homeless. Recently there has been considerable government investment in new approaches to end long-term homelessness, but evidence supporting the efficacy of these approaches is limited. This project builds on a fo ....Ending long-term homelessness permanently: How to make effective links between housing and long-term support. Australian services for homeless people typically provide short to medium-term assistance and accommodation. This approach struggles to meet the complex needs of the long-term homeless. Recently there has been considerable government investment in new approaches to end long-term homelessness, but evidence supporting the efficacy of these approaches is limited. This project builds on a four year Randomised Controlled Trial of the Journey to Social Inclusion pilot-program which was designed to end long-term homelessness. The project aims to track participants for an additional two years. The research aims to provide new knowledge on what practices and factors generate positive outcomes and what factors and practices sustain positive outcomes.Read moreRead less
The role of the front line in welfare to work. This project aims to examine the front-line in Australia's primary site of welfare reform - the Job Network. Developed within the genre of street-level policy research, the project intends to examine that point of the policy process where actual outcomes are generated - a site which is largely overlooked in policy research, but which is integral to a comprehensive understanding of how policy works. From the perspective of the long-term unemployed, t ....The role of the front line in welfare to work. This project aims to examine the front-line in Australia's primary site of welfare reform - the Job Network. Developed within the genre of street-level policy research, the project intends to examine that point of the policy process where actual outcomes are generated - a site which is largely overlooked in policy research, but which is integral to a comprehensive understanding of how policy works. From the perspective of the long-term unemployed, the research will explore what works in the relationship between clients and their case managers. It will also explore the experiences of engagement and re-engagement with employment as a consequence of Job Network assistance.Read moreRead less