Modelling community preferences for health policy: how choice experiments can inform the organisation of acute health services for older Australians. This work will provide vital information on community preferences to inform health policy regarding how we should best organise acute healthcare for older Australians. It addresses one of the most pressing health policy issues in Australia: how to maintain a sustainable, equitable and responsive health care system, in the face of an ageing populati ....Modelling community preferences for health policy: how choice experiments can inform the organisation of acute health services for older Australians. This work will provide vital information on community preferences to inform health policy regarding how we should best organise acute healthcare for older Australians. It addresses one of the most pressing health policy issues in Australia: how to maintain a sustainable, equitable and responsive health care system, in the face of an ageing population.Read moreRead less
Nanny state or good public policy: Do the benefits of mandatory health programs justify the loss of consumer choice? Governments are increasingly turning to mandatory programs to improve health. Such programs are appealing because there are high health benefits from universal participation and low costs for promotion and monitoring the program. However, this apparent benefit relies on restriction of personal choice, which may impose welfare losses on consumers. Evaluations generally ignore loss ....Nanny state or good public policy: Do the benefits of mandatory health programs justify the loss of consumer choice? Governments are increasingly turning to mandatory programs to improve health. Such programs are appealing because there are high health benefits from universal participation and low costs for promotion and monitoring the program. However, this apparent benefit relies on restriction of personal choice, which may impose welfare losses on consumers. Evaluations generally ignore loss of choice, despite evidence suggesting consumers value the ability to choose. This study will estimate the impact and value this loss of consumer choice, explore program specific factors and consumer characteristics influencing the valuation, and determine whether and how restricted choice should be explicitly considered when evaluating public health programs.Read moreRead less
Modelling health: Reporting behaviour and misclassification using survey data. Empirical models based on large scale survey data sets are used by health economists to inform policymakers. However, in the case of sensitive topics, a potential for survey misreporting may lead to inaccurate estimates of aberrant behaviours. To date, little work has been done analysing the extent and consequences of inaccurate reporting, especially within health economics. By addressing areas where potential for mis ....Modelling health: Reporting behaviour and misclassification using survey data. Empirical models based on large scale survey data sets are used by health economists to inform policymakers. However, in the case of sensitive topics, a potential for survey misreporting may lead to inaccurate estimates of aberrant behaviours. To date, little work has been done analysing the extent and consequences of inaccurate reporting, especially within health economics. By addressing areas where potential for misinformation is high, the overall quality of results will be enhanced. This research will be submitted to highly ranked health economics and econometrics journals to be made available to relevant policymakers intent on ensuring a healthy society.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
The Role of Directors in CorporateTakeovers. This research deals with one of the causes and consequences of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) for boards of directors of companies involved in M&As. The Federal Government's Corporate Law and Economic Reform Program (CLERP), Paper No:3 states that corporate governance practices by Australian companies should be continuously monitored by the Australian Stock Exchange and relevant industries and professional bodies. Our research on the extent to which ....The Role of Directors in CorporateTakeovers. This research deals with one of the causes and consequences of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) for boards of directors of companies involved in M&As. The Federal Government's Corporate Law and Economic Reform Program (CLERP), Paper No:3 states that corporate governance practices by Australian companies should be continuously monitored by the Australian Stock Exchange and relevant industries and professional bodies. Our research on the extent to which directors get penalised and/or rewarded for acquisition decisions depending on the outcomes of the M&A, contribute towards this monitoring.Read moreRead less
Understanding and preventing workforce vulnerabilities in midlife and beyond. This project brings together frontline service agencies with researchers from two universities to study involuntary non-participation and under-participation in the labour market by midlife Australians. Quantitative and qualitative approaches will be used to understand pathways and outcomes so as to inform policy and practice responses.
Analysing global consumption patterns with a large number of commodities. This project provides estimates of the income and price sensitivities of consumption, for a large number of finely distinguished goods, across most countries. These, together with new ways of enhancing economic data (by recognising quality improvements of goods and uncertainty), will be of value to researchers, government and business.
Understanding, measuring and managing the benefits of urban waterways. This project aims to improve understanding of the contribution of urban waterways to enhanced liveability in cities. Australia needs better water resource management and the rapid growth of Australia’s cities places increased importance on managing natural assets in metropolitan areas. The project focuses on clarifying the link between the benefits of waterways and the measurement techniques used by economists, which in turn ....Understanding, measuring and managing the benefits of urban waterways. This project aims to improve understanding of the contribution of urban waterways to enhanced liveability in cities. Australia needs better water resource management and the rapid growth of Australia’s cities places increased importance on managing natural assets in metropolitan areas. The project focuses on clarifying the link between the benefits of waterways and the measurement techniques used by economists, which in turn inform management choices. The project aims to fill an important gap between the psychology and economics disciplines and outputs should significantly improve the way waterways are valued and managed. This is intended to offer benefits for urban residents and to improve the methodologies used for environmental valuation.Read moreRead less
Modelling non-linear price dynamics of primary commodities that are affected by seasonality, significant storage costs, and slow adjustment. Australia's economy relies substantially on exports of commodities. However, recent volatility of commodity prices has created tremendous uncertainties for traders, producers and consumers of those commodities. This adversely affects our national economy through the disruption of agricultural and mining production, and also more broadly impacts on investmen ....Modelling non-linear price dynamics of primary commodities that are affected by seasonality, significant storage costs, and slow adjustment. Australia's economy relies substantially on exports of commodities. However, recent volatility of commodity prices has created tremendous uncertainties for traders, producers and consumers of those commodities. This adversely affects our national economy through the disruption of agricultural and mining production, and also more broadly impacts on investment, employment and gross domestic income. This research will model more accurately the complex dynamics of primary commodity prices and their inter-market linkages, which will allow traders, producers and consumers to better forecast commodity price movements and protect themselves through inventory management, hedging and long-run production planning.Read moreRead less
Forecasting Risk Thresholds for Portfolio Management and Regulation. The project will develop new models and methods for dynamic risk modelling, assessment of portfolio risk, and forecasting of portfolio risk thresholds. These novel methods will have extensive applications across investment portfolios for banks and financial institutions globally. The techniques will feature a dynamic updating of risk estimates, and more accurate forecasting of portfolio risk, the correlations of portfolio asset ....Forecasting Risk Thresholds for Portfolio Management and Regulation. The project will develop new models and methods for dynamic risk modelling, assessment of portfolio risk, and forecasting of portfolio risk thresholds. These novel methods will have extensive applications across investment portfolios for banks and financial institutions globally. The techniques will feature a dynamic updating of risk estimates, and more accurate forecasting of portfolio risk, the correlations of portfolio asset classes, and Value at Risk (VaR) thresholds. The innovative methods and models will permit both financial institutions and regulatory authorities to model VaR thresholds more accurately, and enable investment managers to regulate and benchmark their portfolios more effectively against international best practice.
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