The Economics of Envy. Envy is persistent and universal. It may help explain why humans are relatively less hierarchical than other primate species and prone to egalitarianism. Envy may help explain the formation of political and social structures and taxation and redistribution policies. This project will examine how in-group and out-group bias, social/economic mobility, and luck versus ability exacerbate and mitigate social preference and when these factors result in destructive and/or constru ....The Economics of Envy. Envy is persistent and universal. It may help explain why humans are relatively less hierarchical than other primate species and prone to egalitarianism. Envy may help explain the formation of political and social structures and taxation and redistribution policies. This project will examine how in-group and out-group bias, social/economic mobility, and luck versus ability exacerbate and mitigate social preference and when these factors result in destructive and/or constructive envy. This investigation contributes to the understanding of envy and its behavioural manifestations. Understanding the correlates of social preferences and the resulting behaviour is important for developing policy to reduce destructive envy and encourage constructive envy. Read moreRead less
Intergenerational Transmission of Dependence on Income Support: Patterns, Causation and Implications for Australian Social Policy. This project examines the consequences of growing up in an income-support family. The first stage describes the relationship between parents' and children's income-support receipt to determine whether these children are more likely to access income-support programs themselves. Stage 2 identifies the causal mechanisms through which parental income-support receipt in ....Intergenerational Transmission of Dependence on Income Support: Patterns, Causation and Implications for Australian Social Policy. This project examines the consequences of growing up in an income-support family. The first stage describes the relationship between parents' and children's income-support receipt to determine whether these children are more likely to access income-support programs themselves. Stage 2 identifies the causal mechanisms through which parental income-support receipt influences children's outcomes. Identification of these transmission mechanisms is a necessary first step in formulating policies targeted towards breaking any cycle of welfare dependence. This project is innovative in its use of survey data merged to unique administrative data that link the income-support records of some 53,000 young Australians and their parents.
Read moreRead less
Macro and micro level subjective expectations information and economic behaviour. This project examines the importance of economic expectations on the future state of the economy in decision making. It focuses on large life decisions such as going into retirement, paying for a university education and buying a house. The project also assess the extent to which people are able to make these predictions accurately.
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
Experimental evaluation of YP4 - Is 'joining up' services for homeless and jobless people a net benefit to society? This project will provide evidence on the social costs and benefits of programs that seek to 'join up' delivery of government services - with specific reference to young homeless jobseekers. This knowledge has direct application in future design of government policies on implementing programmes for government payment recipients with multiple sources of disadvantage. Furthermore, th ....Experimental evaluation of YP4 - Is 'joining up' services for homeless and jobless people a net benefit to society? This project will provide evidence on the social costs and benefits of programs that seek to 'join up' delivery of government services - with specific reference to young homeless jobseekers. This knowledge has direct application in future design of government policies on implementing programmes for government payment recipients with multiple sources of disadvantage. Furthermore, the project will provide a 'case study' demonstration of the capacity for not-for-profit organisations to independently undertake policy reform, and to implement that reform in a way that allows rigorous evaluation of its effects. The project will also extend research expertise in the area of program evaluation, particularly as applied in the Australian context.Read moreRead less
An Investigation of Chronic and Transitory Poverty in Australia in the Twenty-First Century. People in chronic poverty are unlikely to lead 'healthy, productive or fulfilling' lives. Their unrealized productive and creative potential is a loss to society as well as to the individuals themselves. The information about the intensity of chronic and transitory poverty in Australia that is generated by this project will enable government and charitable institutions to better allocate the substantial ....An Investigation of Chronic and Transitory Poverty in Australia in the Twenty-First Century. People in chronic poverty are unlikely to lead 'healthy, productive or fulfilling' lives. Their unrealized productive and creative potential is a loss to society as well as to the individuals themselves. The information about the intensity of chronic and transitory poverty in Australia that is generated by this project will enable government and charitable institutions to better allocate the substantial resources that they invest annually in programs to assist economically disadvantaged people. The project also has a training function: to develop the research capacity of a postgraduate student who will write a thesis on chronic poverty among children. Read moreRead less
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
Policy-Related Lessons from the Econometric Analysis of Life Satisfaction Data in Australia. Our analyses will provide important information to policy-makers aiming to design policies that improve Australia's economic and social fabric. In particular, we will inform on the response of Australians to major life-events such as unemployment, ill-health or marital dissolution, but also exogenous shocks including drought and terrorism. Major focus will be on differentiating the determinants of life s ....Policy-Related Lessons from the Econometric Analysis of Life Satisfaction Data in Australia. Our analyses will provide important information to policy-makers aiming to design policies that improve Australia's economic and social fabric. In particular, we will inform on the response of Australians to major life-events such as unemployment, ill-health or marital dissolution, but also exogenous shocks including drought and terrorism. Major focus will be on differentiating the determinants of life satisfaction between rural and urban communities in Australia, and investigating the response of these communities to drought conditions. Moreover, we believe that a detailed international comparison using German and UK data will provide unique evidence on the relative quality of life in Australia and the role of culture and institutions. Read moreRead less
Inequality of opportunity in Australia. This project aims to develop econometric approaches for identifying opportunity gaps in Australia and other developed countries. Inequality of opportunity arises when the birth lottery or external factors in later life, rather than personal efforts, determine a person’s chances of economic success. A high level of inequality of opportunity holds people back from realising their potential and from contributing productively to society. The project will focus ....Inequality of opportunity in Australia. This project aims to develop econometric approaches for identifying opportunity gaps in Australia and other developed countries. Inequality of opportunity arises when the birth lottery or external factors in later life, rather than personal efforts, determine a person’s chances of economic success. A high level of inequality of opportunity holds people back from realising their potential and from contributing productively to society. The project will focus on the effect of inequality of opportunity on income, health and education with special emphasis placed on Indigenous and migrant populations. The findings should help formulate cost-efficient policy interventions aimed at levelling the economic playing field.Read moreRead less
Work-related Training in Australia. The proposal will improve our understanding of the relationship between work-related training and wage formation, wage growth and inequality in Australia. It will contribute to a better-informed public debate about how to make Australia a knowledge-based economy and will ultimately improve economic policies that are relevant to skills acquisition. This has the potential to have a significant impact on the economic well-being and quality of life of many individ ....Work-related Training in Australia. The proposal will improve our understanding of the relationship between work-related training and wage formation, wage growth and inequality in Australia. It will contribute to a better-informed public debate about how to make Australia a knowledge-based economy and will ultimately improve economic policies that are relevant to skills acquisition. This has the potential to have a significant impact on the economic well-being and quality of life of many individuals and households in the economy, thereby contributing to the National Research Priorities, especially 'Strengthening Australia's Social and Economic Fabric'. Read moreRead less