Judges' work, place and psychological health - a national view. This project aims to address the human, juridical and financial costs of judicial officers’ work-related psychological harm. This harm is implicated in early retirement, sick leave and suicide. It threatens appropriate courtroom conduct, procedural fairness and impartial adjudication. The project seeks to generate new knowledge of the stress judicial officers experience and the individual and institutional mechanisms for managing st ....Judges' work, place and psychological health - a national view. This project aims to address the human, juridical and financial costs of judicial officers’ work-related psychological harm. This harm is implicated in early retirement, sick leave and suicide. It threatens appropriate courtroom conduct, procedural fairness and impartial adjudication. The project seeks to generate new knowledge of the stress judicial officers experience and the individual and institutional mechanisms for managing stressors, combining socio-legal and psychological approaches. Expected outcomes include evidence-based understandings to inform recruitment and retention strategies specific to this highly specialized workforce. This should provide significant benefits for judges’ work capacities and courts' delivery of justice.Read moreRead less
Commodity booms and busts: Implications for the Australian economy. In 2007-08 the share of mining in Australia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was the highest for at least four decades and mining investment had more than doubled over the previous four years, now accounting for one-quarter of all private investment. This, and accompanying surges in employment and economic growth, came courtesy of a spectacular surge in global mineral, energy and agricultural commodity prices. Controversy still ....Commodity booms and busts: Implications for the Australian economy. In 2007-08 the share of mining in Australia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was the highest for at least four decades and mining investment had more than doubled over the previous four years, now accounting for one-quarter of all private investment. This, and accompanying surges in employment and economic growth, came courtesy of a spectacular surge in global mineral, energy and agricultural commodity prices. Controversy still surrounds the causes of the most recent and previous commodity booms and busts. The results from this proposed project would aid policy making and business decisions in commodity sectors, particularly with respect to the roles of supply-side constraints and the approval processes for new Australian resource development projects.Read moreRead less
Youth in Australia: Education and Work. This project examines, in an integrated way, the education decisions, transition from school to work, and the early labour market experience of youth from 1975 to the present time. The recent emphasis on Australia as a Knowledge Nation and a New Economy indicates that study of education decisions is a high priority. Similarly, pathways from school to work and the cumulative disadvantage that many youth experience in the labour market are leading contempo ....Youth in Australia: Education and Work. This project examines, in an integrated way, the education decisions, transition from school to work, and the early labour market experience of youth from 1975 to the present time. The recent emphasis on Australia as a Knowledge Nation and a New Economy indicates that study of education decisions is a high priority. Similarly, pathways from school to work and the cumulative disadvantage that many youth experience in the labour market are leading contemporary economic and social issues. The project is expected to yield insights into the determinants of educational attainment, best pathways and the channels of influence on labour market success and failure that will be policy relevant and publishable in refereed journals.Read moreRead less
Wage Determination and the New Household Economics. By linking wage outcomes and occupational attainment to home time activities and the human capital and other characteristics of partners, this project should help establish the basis for the payoffs to schooling, the gender pay gap and the marriage wage premium in Australia. A focus on the household allocation of time, with a possible emphasis on child care, may emerge as an important consideration in discussion of the gender wage gap, and of ....Wage Determination and the New Household Economics. By linking wage outcomes and occupational attainment to home time activities and the human capital and other characteristics of partners, this project should help establish the basis for the payoffs to schooling, the gender pay gap and the marriage wage premium in Australia. A focus on the household allocation of time, with a possible emphasis on child care, may emerge as an important consideration in discussion of the gender wage gap, and of the glass ceiling effects shown in recent research and in the media to be an important feature of the Australian labour market.Read moreRead less
Examining Overeducation and Undereducation in the Immigrant Labour Market: An International Case Study Approach. Overseas research has shown that wages and job satisfaction are affected by the degree to which workers' skills are matched to the requirements of their jobs. Examination of this issue for Australia within an international case study approach will identify avenues through which the matching function of the labour market can be improved, and hence economic efficiency enhanced. This wil ....Examining Overeducation and Undereducation in the Immigrant Labour Market: An International Case Study Approach. Overseas research has shown that wages and job satisfaction are affected by the degree to which workers' skills are matched to the requirements of their jobs. Examination of this issue for Australia within an international case study approach will identify avenues through which the matching function of the labour market can be improved, and hence economic efficiency enhanced. This will benefit Australia in that it will provide a basis through which worker satisfaction, lifetime outcomes and aggregate output can be enhanced through a more effective use of our skill-base, and hence permit a strengthening of our social and economic fabric. Read moreRead less
High-skilled immigrants: Improved methods for enhancing absorption and addressing negative assimilation. This project will help Australia to design better migration and immigrant settlement policies. It will provide policy-makers with information on the economic and social adjustment of high-skilled immigrants in a global economy, and hasten the contribution of these immigrants to the development of Australia's technological capabilities. This, in turn, will increase Australia's production oppor ....High-skilled immigrants: Improved methods for enhancing absorption and addressing negative assimilation. This project will help Australia to design better migration and immigrant settlement policies. It will provide policy-makers with information on the economic and social adjustment of high-skilled immigrants in a global economy, and hasten the contribution of these immigrants to the development of Australia's technological capabilities. This, in turn, will increase Australia's production opportunities. The research will also help ensure that highly trained researchers are available for acquiring the knowledge that is important in a multicultural society such as Australia, and will further enhance our understanding of our region and the world.Read moreRead less
Nonparametric and Semiparametric Approaches in Nonlinear Time Series Econometrics and Financial Econometrics. This research proposal involves new theoretical investigations using nonparametric and semiparametric approaches in high dimensional nonlinear economic and financial dynamical systems.
The main aims of this proposal are
(i) to make new theoretical investigations of high dimensional nonlinear economic and financial dynamical models which incorporate to varying degrees, nonlinearit ....Nonparametric and Semiparametric Approaches in Nonlinear Time Series Econometrics and Financial Econometrics. This research proposal involves new theoretical investigations using nonparametric and semiparametric approaches in high dimensional nonlinear economic and financial dynamical systems.
The main aims of this proposal are
(i) to make new theoretical investigations of high dimensional nonlinear economic and financial dynamical models which incorporate to varying degrees, nonlinearity, and additivity;
(ii) to develop novel computational procedures and programmes for the necessary statistical inference associated with new high dimensional nonlinear dynamical models; and
(iii) to apply the techniques and programmes to improve economic and financial model building and forecasts from better models.
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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
Food security and the governance of local knowledge in India and Indonesia. This project aims to discover how local farming communities’ practical knowledge can improve food security. 795 million undernourished people rely on small farmers for food. To protect these farmers from multinational agribusiness and climate change, this project will examine how small farmers turn useful plant material into cultivated crops through plant selection and breeding under conditions of climate change; identif ....Food security and the governance of local knowledge in India and Indonesia. This project aims to discover how local farming communities’ practical knowledge can improve food security. 795 million undernourished people rely on small farmers for food. To protect these farmers from multinational agribusiness and climate change, this project will examine how small farmers turn useful plant material into cultivated crops through plant selection and breeding under conditions of climate change; identify how regulatory structures in India and Indonesia help or hinder this process; and identify opportunities to apply local knowledge and its regulatory framework in Australia. Better understanding local conditions should benefit regulators, NGOs, businesses and aid agencies.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