A Comparative Law and Economics Analysis of Class Actions in Australia, the US and the UK. Research on how class action law suits operate to enforce rules and rights in the civil justice system, can promote three of the four national research priorities. By enabling better enforcement of competition, contract and corporations law for consumers and investors encourages better performing markets, corporations, and in turn an innovation culture and economy. By enabling better enforcement of produ ....A Comparative Law and Economics Analysis of Class Actions in Australia, the US and the UK. Research on how class action law suits operate to enforce rules and rights in the civil justice system, can promote three of the four national research priorities. By enabling better enforcement of competition, contract and corporations law for consumers and investors encourages better performing markets, corporations, and in turn an innovation culture and economy. By enabling better enforcement of product safety laws (e.g. asbestos and tobacco) it will promote better products and services and thus better health of users over time. Finally by enabling better enforcement of environmental law it will help address the water crisis and climate change.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
Optimism, Pessimism and Confidence - Their economic impacts. When modelling uncertainty, economists typically assume people utilise well-behaved and precise probabilities. As most people have only the vaguest conception of chances of terrorist acts, of contracting SARS, or of extreme market volatility, this limits usefulness of the standard model in predicting or guiding choice. This project aims to incorporate a richer set of attitudes about uncertainty into economic theory, including impreci ....Optimism, Pessimism and Confidence - Their economic impacts. When modelling uncertainty, economists typically assume people utilise well-behaved and precise probabilities. As most people have only the vaguest conception of chances of terrorist acts, of contracting SARS, or of extreme market volatility, this limits usefulness of the standard model in predicting or guiding choice. This project aims to incorporate a richer set of attitudes about uncertainty into economic theory, including imprecise estimates of chance, optimistic (or pessimistic) bias, and relative confidence. This will enable more rigorous analysis of topics like irrational exuberance (panic), consumer stampedes, and (in)tolerance of risk, thereby improving the measurement of benefits and costs of related actions or policies.Read moreRead less
International exchanges of knowledge, temporary skilled labour movements, and Australia's economic growth. It is known that skilled labour is a significant source of economic growth as it creates new knowledge and innovation, and that Australia, like other countries, uses policies to attract skilled migrants. It is less known however that thousands of skilled workers also migrate temporarily, often to exchange knowledge. Whilst the effect of permanent migration is widely researched, this project ....International exchanges of knowledge, temporary skilled labour movements, and Australia's economic growth. It is known that skilled labour is a significant source of economic growth as it creates new knowledge and innovation, and that Australia, like other countries, uses policies to attract skilled migrants. It is less known however that thousands of skilled workers also migrate temporarily, often to exchange knowledge. Whilst the effect of permanent migration is widely researched, this project will examine the economic impact of short-term labour movements. Using data from DIMIA and surveying temporary migrants, this project will analyse the consequences of temporary labour movements on Australia's innovation ability, productivity and economic growth, contributing to develop migration policy.Read moreRead less
House Prices in Australia: A Hedonic Analysis. House prices are an important input to monetary policy since they impact directly on inflation and may be a source of speculative bubbles. The Governor of the Reserve Bank, however, recently described housing as the ``weakest link in all the price data.'' This project will attempt to resolve this problem. The resulting indexes should be of considerable interest to the Reserve Bank, the media, home owners, the real estate industry, and enhance the re ....House Prices in Australia: A Hedonic Analysis. House prices are an important input to monetary policy since they impact directly on inflation and may be a source of speculative bubbles. The Governor of the Reserve Bank, however, recently described housing as the ``weakest link in all the price data.'' This project will attempt to resolve this problem. The resulting indexes should be of considerable interest to the Reserve Bank, the media, home owners, the real estate industry, and enhance the reputation of Australian universities. They will also quantify the extent of the burden imposed on young people by rising house prices, and its consequent strain on society.Read moreRead less
The Dynamics Shaping Underground Economic Behaviour. Tax evasion and the underground economy have recently become a topical issue in Australia. The underground economy is said to exist when a person either fails to declare cash earnings or overstates consumption expenditure in order to minimise their tax paying obligations. This current project will undertake the first international analysis of the behaviour of those participating in the underground economy and how these individuals respond to c ....The Dynamics Shaping Underground Economic Behaviour. Tax evasion and the underground economy have recently become a topical issue in Australia. The underground economy is said to exist when a person either fails to declare cash earnings or overstates consumption expenditure in order to minimise their tax paying obligations. This current project will undertake the first international analysis of the behaviour of those participating in the underground economy and how these individuals respond to changes in taxes and economic opportunities. The results will contribute to future decisions that may affect tax policy, tax audit programs and taxpayer compliance initiative strategies, particularly those affecting Australia. Read moreRead less
Distributional Consequences of Mass-Market Higher Education in Business. Increased access to tertiary education has not been evaluated for its effects on the full spectrum of individuals served by the tertiary sector. Using longitudinal data on entire student populations at university business faculties, this project will provide the first Australian evidence on the trade-offs amongst the educational success of students with different levels of preparation that occur when those with poorer prep ....Distributional Consequences of Mass-Market Higher Education in Business. Increased access to tertiary education has not been evaluated for its effects on the full spectrum of individuals served by the tertiary sector. Using longitudinal data on entire student populations at university business faculties, this project will provide the first Australian evidence on the trade-offs amongst the educational success of students with different levels of preparation that occur when those with poorer preparation are added to classrooms. Short-term performance and medium-term attrition, a recent educational policy focus, will be evaluated. Theoretically grounded recommendations will result for undergraduate program design to suit a student population with varying levels of university preparation.Read moreRead less
International Comparisons of Consumption, Incomes and Prices. This project will provide insights into the workings of the world economy, and how it might change in the future. This will be beneficial to the Australian economy as the role of international trade in goods, people and capital is likely to become even more important to us in the future. The project will also enhance Australia's reputation for producing high-level research of both a fundamental and applied nature in consumption econ ....International Comparisons of Consumption, Incomes and Prices. This project will provide insights into the workings of the world economy, and how it might change in the future. This will be beneficial to the Australian economy as the role of international trade in goods, people and capital is likely to become even more important to us in the future. The project will also enhance Australia's reputation for producing high-level research of both a fundamental and applied nature in consumption economics and international economics. It is hoped that the training of research students will be a further benefit of the project.Read moreRead less
Resource Inflows, Intrahousehold Resource Allocation and their Impact on Expenditure Patterns, Child Health and Household Composition. This project will examine the impact of resource inflows in the household and intrahousehold distribution on different household outcomes like expenditure patterns, child health and household composition. The project will examine the interaction between private and public transfers. It will develop new tests to examine whether income accruing from different sourc ....Resource Inflows, Intrahousehold Resource Allocation and their Impact on Expenditure Patterns, Child Health and Household Composition. This project will examine the impact of resource inflows in the household and intrahousehold distribution on different household outcomes like expenditure patterns, child health and household composition. The project will examine the interaction between private and public transfers. It will develop new tests to examine whether income accruing from different sources and accruing to different individuals are pooled so that the identity of the recipient or the source of the resource does not matter. The results of this project will also help to answer the important policy question of whether aid should be targeted to specific individuals within the household.Read moreRead less
The demand and supply of retirement provision. Population and a shrinking public sector mean increasing self-provision for retirement. This project examines various aspects of private retirement provision, focussing on both demand and supply in the retirement income industry. It will analyse institutional features of markets, pension funds and policy structures, and their implications for saving and investment behaviour, life-long financial strategies, efficient resource allocation, and retireme ....The demand and supply of retirement provision. Population and a shrinking public sector mean increasing self-provision for retirement. This project examines various aspects of private retirement provision, focussing on both demand and supply in the retirement income industry. It will analyse institutional features of markets, pension funds and policy structures, and their implications for saving and investment behaviour, life-long financial strategies, efficient resource allocation, and retirement income adequacy. Specially emphasised will be: the role of housing as a retirement asset; the impact of governance structure on pension fund administration; and firm technology and employer-sponsored pension plans. Empirical research will embrace Australia, Japan and the US, allowing international comparison.Read moreRead less