Income inequality and mobility in Australia, Great Britain and the US. A major debate is raging on the growth of income inequality, especially in Anglo-Saxon countries. This project will use a cross-national framework to investigate income inequality and mobility in Australia, Britain and the United States of America. It will re-evaluate the tax-based evidence and reconcile it with household survey evidence. Using household panel data, it will comprehensively examine income mobility patterns, us ....Income inequality and mobility in Australia, Great Britain and the US. A major debate is raging on the growth of income inequality, especially in Anglo-Saxon countries. This project will use a cross-national framework to investigate income inequality and mobility in Australia, Britain and the United States of America. It will re-evaluate the tax-based evidence and reconcile it with household survey evidence. Using household panel data, it will comprehensively examine income mobility patterns, using a variety of mobility measures. It aims to show the sensitivity of income inequality and mobility patterns and trends to broader income measures. The project also aims to provide policymakers with a more accurate and complete understanding of Australian income inequality and mobility trends and their drivers within an international context.Read moreRead less
Inequality of health, wealth and education in China. This project aims to examine whether China’s recent increase in income inequality is associated with increased inequalities in other well-being related outcomes: health, education and wealth. It also aims to identify the factors associated with increases in inequalities. Significant increases in income and wealth inequality could have detrimental effects on economic and political stability. The expected outcomes from this project will help to ....Inequality of health, wealth and education in China. This project aims to examine whether China’s recent increase in income inequality is associated with increased inequalities in other well-being related outcomes: health, education and wealth. It also aims to identify the factors associated with increases in inequalities. Significant increases in income and wealth inequality could have detrimental effects on economic and political stability. The expected outcomes from this project will help to identify policies useful in addressing inequalities and enhancing stability within Australia's important trading partner.Read moreRead less
Econometric methods for distributional policy effects. This project aims to develop new econometric methods that can measure distributional policy effects by accounting for heterogeneous policy impacts among observationally equivalent individuals. The project expects to develop quantile regression methods under a difference-in-differences framework that accommodates issues of censoring and sample selection. The outcomes of this project are expected to substantially broaden the scope of the stand ....Econometric methods for distributional policy effects. This project aims to develop new econometric methods that can measure distributional policy effects by accounting for heterogeneous policy impacts among observationally equivalent individuals. The project expects to develop quantile regression methods under a difference-in-differences framework that accommodates issues of censoring and sample selection. The outcomes of this project are expected to substantially broaden the scope of the standard mean difference-in-differences approach and have significant contributions to empirical studies in the future. The project intends to provide statistically valid inferential procedures and conduct simulation exercise and empirical studies relevant to policy evaluation for the benefit of Australia and other jurisdictions.Read moreRead less
Talent Mismatch: Evidence from Australian Administrative Tax Records. The project aims to study the skill composition of the Australian workforce. Changes in the macroeconomic and technology environments make it hard to predict skill shortage. The project expects to develop macroeconomic models quantifying skill-mismatch of university graduates, identify sources of mismatch, highlight gender and generational differences, and estimate associated costs to Australia. The expected outcomes are to he ....Talent Mismatch: Evidence from Australian Administrative Tax Records. The project aims to study the skill composition of the Australian workforce. Changes in the macroeconomic and technology environments make it hard to predict skill shortage. The project expects to develop macroeconomic models quantifying skill-mismatch of university graduates, identify sources of mismatch, highlight gender and generational differences, and estimate associated costs to Australia. The expected outcomes are to help shape policy recommendations on the funding of tertiary education in a changing economic climate. This should provide significant benefits to Australians, as policies shaping the tertiary education system affect individual income and the aggregate economy by determining labour supply and taxpayers' financial burden.Read moreRead less
Private Wealth Accumulation, Wealth Distribution, and Social Welfare Reform in Urban China. During the 1990s, when the Chinese urban labour market and social security reforms accelerated, average urban household wealth increased more than three fold and the distribution of wealth widened. We will document this significant change and examine its relationship to past and future social welfare reform. This project will:
· Be the first study of wealth accumulation and distribution in China over th ....Private Wealth Accumulation, Wealth Distribution, and Social Welfare Reform in Urban China. During the 1990s, when the Chinese urban labour market and social security reforms accelerated, average urban household wealth increased more than three fold and the distribution of wealth widened. We will document this significant change and examine its relationship to past and future social welfare reform. This project will:
· Be the first study of wealth accumulation and distribution in China over the 1990s.
· Add to our knowledge of the interrelationship between wealth accumulation, distribution and political power during economic transition.
· Contribute to a better design of a new social welfare system.
· Develop lessons and policy implications that will be broadly applicable to most transitional and developing economies.
The project will produce at least seven journal articles and one book.
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Robust Empirical Analysis of Consumption Poverty in Australia. Australia currently sends $47billion on income support programs, assisting 5.1 million people facing economic hardship. The aims of the project are to improve our understanding of economic poverty in Australia and contribute new methods to the field of poverty analysis. The analysis will include an assessment of the effectiveness of public programs targeted to the poor, and an evaluation of recent reforms to income support programs. ....Robust Empirical Analysis of Consumption Poverty in Australia. Australia currently sends $47billion on income support programs, assisting 5.1 million people facing economic hardship. The aims of the project are to improve our understanding of economic poverty in Australia and contribute new methods to the field of poverty analysis. The analysis will include an assessment of the effectiveness of public programs targeted to the poor, and an evaluation of recent reforms to income support programs. The project will also reveal the critical methodological assumptions underlying our current perceptions of poverty. This research will ultimately contribute to more effective poverty alleviation and income support programs in Australia.Read moreRead less
Economic Inequality: Trends, Causes and Consequences. Measuring inequality and understanding its determinants is important for three reasons. First, knowing the causes and consequences of inequality is critical to making trade-offs between equity and efficiency. Second, the degree of economic mobility over the lifecycle determines how much opportunity people have to move upwards, and how much risk they face on moving downwards. This informs policies that guard against risk (eg. social insurance) ....Economic Inequality: Trends, Causes and Consequences. Measuring inequality and understanding its determinants is important for three reasons. First, knowing the causes and consequences of inequality is critical to making trade-offs between equity and efficiency. Second, the degree of economic mobility over the lifecycle determines how much opportunity people have to move upwards, and how much risk they face on moving downwards. This informs policies that guard against risk (eg. social insurance) and those that encourage risk (eg. entrepreneurship). Third, by learning more about intergenerational mobility, we can improve policies that seek to boost the life chances of children in disadvantaged households. Read moreRead less
The dynamics of economic and social change: An analysis of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey. This project will establish a program of research focused on understanding economic and social change and how such change affects individual Australians, their families and the communities in which they live. It will revolve around new panel data collected through the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey, Australia's first nationally representative househ ....The dynamics of economic and social change: An analysis of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey. This project will establish a program of research focused on understanding economic and social change and how such change affects individual Australians, their families and the communities in which they live. It will revolve around new panel data collected through the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey, Australia's first nationally representative household-based panel survey. The project will address a large number of research questions of fundamental importance to Australians and the way they live. These questions cover three main areas: (i) income, poverty and well-being; (ii) labour supply and work incentives; and (iii) the changing nature of work.Read moreRead less
The Wealth and Asset Holdings of Native- and Foreign-born Australian Families. The national/community benefits of this project are twofold. First, understanding net worth, portfolio allocation, and wealth accumulation is central to a number of Australian policy debates. Our ability to lessen the budget pressures caused by population aging will rest on finding incentives for families to accumulate more personal wealth, while the ability of immigration to solve this budget problem rests on determi ....The Wealth and Asset Holdings of Native- and Foreign-born Australian Families. The national/community benefits of this project are twofold. First, understanding net worth, portfolio allocation, and wealth accumulation is central to a number of Australian policy debates. Our ability to lessen the budget pressures caused by population aging will rest on finding incentives for families to accumulate more personal wealth, while the ability of immigration to solve this budget problem rests on determining whether foreign- and native-born families accumulate wealth in the same way. Second, this project allows Australia to make a unique contribution to the international evidence on the relationship between race, ethnicity, and nativity and economic well being. Read moreRead less