The Development of English Economic Vocabulary to 1776: the Formation of a Disciplinary Language. The language of economic science is fundamental to all social theory - and indeed, to how modern societies perceive themselves. Where does that vocabulary - both the language and the concepts carried by that language - come from? How did it develop? The aim of this research project is to clarify the answers to these two questions, up to the time at which political economy or economics became a matur ....The Development of English Economic Vocabulary to 1776: the Formation of a Disciplinary Language. The language of economic science is fundamental to all social theory - and indeed, to how modern societies perceive themselves. Where does that vocabulary - both the language and the concepts carried by that language - come from? How did it develop? The aim of this research project is to clarify the answers to these two questions, up to the time at which political economy or economics became a mature intellectual system - in Adam Smith's 1776 "Wealth of Nations". This will be the first such systematic and comprehensive book-length study of the formation of this disciplinary language ever attempted.Read moreRead less
Choice and Classification in complex and adversarial environments. Any policy must take account of individuals' incentives to strategically manipulate. Mechanism Design is an area of economic theory that addresses precisely this. In its theoretical development however, it overlooks practical constraints for monitoring behavior. For instance, for fraud detection and credit scoring, automated statistical machine learning models discussed in computer science (CS) are used. Here, we constrain ....Choice and Classification in complex and adversarial environments. Any policy must take account of individuals' incentives to strategically manipulate. Mechanism Design is an area of economic theory that addresses precisely this. In its theoretical development however, it overlooks practical constraints for monitoring behavior. For instance, for fraud detection and credit scoring, automated statistical machine learning models discussed in computer science (CS) are used. Here, we constrain monitoring strategies to be such algorithms and address the monitoring of a population of individuals or a similarly constrained large adversary. Notable cross disciplinary implications exist forRead moreRead less
Strategic Thought and Prediction in Strategic Environments. Game theory is now an integral tool for economics and business. It helps predict behavior in strategic environments and thus answers important questions: What form of auction to use in the pending sale of 3G spectrum? How should the government sell its bonds? How to detect implict collusion among companies? What division of benefits of joint research ventures will attract maximum participation?
This project aims to greatly increas ....Strategic Thought and Prediction in Strategic Environments. Game theory is now an integral tool for economics and business. It helps predict behavior in strategic environments and thus answers important questions: What form of auction to use in the pending sale of 3G spectrum? How should the government sell its bonds? How to detect implict collusion among companies? What division of benefits of joint research ventures will attract maximum participation?
This project aims to greatly increase the predictive power of game theory and provide decisive answers to questions such as above. This is achieved by developing a theory that relates individuals' current behavior to their experiences in analogous environments in the past.
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Linear and non-linear Price Decentralization. General equilibrium theory provides the conceptual foundation for our understanding of efficiency and welfare economics. However, at present it does not provide for an adequate understanding in many seetings: for instance, in the case of incomplete financial markets and markets with imperfect information. This project is part of the ongoing and broad research program in the Economic Theory Center of The University of Melbourne on general equilibriu ....Linear and non-linear Price Decentralization. General equilibrium theory provides the conceptual foundation for our understanding of efficiency and welfare economics. However, at present it does not provide for an adequate understanding in many seetings: for instance, in the case of incomplete financial markets and markets with imperfect information. This project is part of the ongoing and broad research program in the Economic Theory Center of The University of Melbourne on general equilibrium theory and mathematical economics. It seeks to extend the classical theory of price decentralization and rectify some of the defects of modern general equilibrium theory.Read moreRead less
Regional Dimensions: New Models for Analysis of the Spatial Effects of Policy, Socio-Demographic and Economic Changes. This project aims to substantially improve the decision-support tools available to State and Territory governments by providing them with, first, far more detailed small area data than has previously been available, via the creation of a synthetic small area household database and, second, with the capacity to assess the current and future impact of possible policy reforms and l ....Regional Dimensions: New Models for Analysis of the Spatial Effects of Policy, Socio-Demographic and Economic Changes. This project aims to substantially improve the decision-support tools available to State and Territory governments by providing them with, first, far more detailed small area data than has previously been available, via the creation of a synthetic small area household database and, second, with the capacity to assess the current and future impact of possible policy reforms and likely social, demographic and economic changes at the small area level, through the construction of microsimulation models on top of the synthetic household data.Read moreRead less
Risk and Australian public policy. This project will develop fundamentally new approaches to the theory of risk and uncertainty and their role in the design and management of complex projects and policy initiatives. The results will be applied to the central economic policy choices facing Australia; those connected with globalisation and microeconomic reform. This project will show how the latest advances in economic theory can help to illuminate the major issues in the Australian public debate, ....Risk and Australian public policy. This project will develop fundamentally new approaches to the theory of risk and uncertainty and their role in the design and management of complex projects and policy initiatives. The results will be applied to the central economic policy choices facing Australia; those connected with globalisation and microeconomic reform. This project will show how the latest advances in economic theory can help to illuminate the major issues in the Australian public debate, from the role of government and the market to the assessment of standards of living. The project will also help to bridge the gap between economics and other social sciences.Read moreRead less
Developing a model to assess the economic consequences of cannabis policy options. The potential economic benefits of the project reside in the ability of governments to make cannabis policy decisions based on assumptions of reduced economic burden of one model over another through:
1.the direct comparison in economic terms of three different models for the regulation of cannabis;
2.a model for estimating economic costs associated with cannabis which can be applied to other illicit drugs;
3 ....Developing a model to assess the economic consequences of cannabis policy options. The potential economic benefits of the project reside in the ability of governments to make cannabis policy decisions based on assumptions of reduced economic burden of one model over another through:
1.the direct comparison in economic terms of three different models for the regulation of cannabis;
2.a model for estimating economic costs associated with cannabis which can be applied to other illicit drugs;
3.improving the evidence-base for policy decision-making at all jurisdictions in Australia.
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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
Geographies of Global Resistance. This project explores recent responses to globalisation, often termed resistance, at global, national and local scales. Institutional and non-institutional responses are explored through contrasting case studies chosen from: first, the organised labour movement in Australia; second, from new social movements involving highly publicised anti-globalisation protests in particular places; and third, other spontaneous internet-based forms of resistance known as 'cult ....Geographies of Global Resistance. This project explores recent responses to globalisation, often termed resistance, at global, national and local scales. Institutional and non-institutional responses are explored through contrasting case studies chosen from: first, the organised labour movement in Australia; second, from new social movements involving highly publicised anti-globalisation protests in particular places; and third, other spontaneous internet-based forms of resistance known as 'culture jamming'. The research will contribute to better understanding the nature of globalisation, relationships between global and local change and strategies of resistance. The research is significant in bringing together insights from new approaches in both economic and cultural geography.Read moreRead less
Regional Economic Development and Performance: Roles of Leadership and Institutional Factors in Endogenous Growth. Contemporary regional economic development theory emphasises endogenous factors as key determinants of difference in regional economic performance. Leadership and institutional issues require special attention for analysis and in strategy formulation and implementation of regional development plans. This project develops model frameworks for analysing the impact of those endogenous ....Regional Economic Development and Performance: Roles of Leadership and Institutional Factors in Endogenous Growth. Contemporary regional economic development theory emphasises endogenous factors as key determinants of difference in regional economic performance. Leadership and institutional issues require special attention for analysis and in strategy formulation and implementation of regional development plans. This project develops model frameworks for analysing the impact of those endogenous factors on regional economic performance and develops methodologies for their incorporation into regional development strategy, using illustrative case studies. A major book on this topic will result. The collaboration is between researchers at the University of Queensland and George Mason University.Read moreRead less