Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150100309
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$328,614.00
Summary
Understanding the Dynamics of Socioeconomic Related Health Inequalities. Health differences across socio-economic groups have persisted in many countries, including Australia, despite decades of considerable improvements in life expectancy and average health status. Little is known of how policies may influence socio-economic health inequalities as the mechanisms underlying them are complex and the causes differ across population groups and over the lifecycle. This project aims to develop method ....Understanding the Dynamics of Socioeconomic Related Health Inequalities. Health differences across socio-economic groups have persisted in many countries, including Australia, despite decades of considerable improvements in life expectancy and average health status. Little is known of how policies may influence socio-economic health inequalities as the mechanisms underlying them are complex and the causes differ across population groups and over the lifecycle. This project aims to develop methods to quantify the major mechanisms that give rise to changes in socio-economic health inequalities in Australia. This project aims to improve our understanding of the dynamic factors that drive changes in health inequalities, thus providing useful information for decision makers about which policies will be cost effective at reducing them.Read moreRead less
Modelling health: Reporting behaviour and misclassification using survey data. Empirical models based on large scale survey data sets are used by health economists to inform policymakers. However, in the case of sensitive topics, a potential for survey misreporting may lead to inaccurate estimates of aberrant behaviours. To date, little work has been done analysing the extent and consequences of inaccurate reporting, especially within health economics. By addressing areas where potential for mis ....Modelling health: Reporting behaviour and misclassification using survey data. Empirical models based on large scale survey data sets are used by health economists to inform policymakers. However, in the case of sensitive topics, a potential for survey misreporting may lead to inaccurate estimates of aberrant behaviours. To date, little work has been done analysing the extent and consequences of inaccurate reporting, especially within health economics. By addressing areas where potential for misinformation is high, the overall quality of results will be enhanced. This research will be submitted to highly ranked health economics and econometrics journals to be made available to relevant policymakers intent on ensuring a healthy society.Read moreRead less
Threshold models in micro-econometrics with applications to empirical models of health. The aim of this project is to develop and apply new statistical approaches to endogenously identify non-linear relationships between explanatory variable(s) and the response variable in non-linear econometric models and to illustrate these with applications important to empirical health economics. Literature proliferates in linear models with non-linear effects, but in health economics non-linear models domin ....Threshold models in micro-econometrics with applications to empirical models of health. The aim of this project is to develop and apply new statistical approaches to endogenously identify non-linear relationships between explanatory variable(s) and the response variable in non-linear econometric models and to illustrate these with applications important to empirical health economics. Literature proliferates in linear models with non-linear effects, but in health economics non-linear models dominate. This project will generalise these techniques to allow for various forms of the threshold variable(s), including categorical and continuous, endogenous and exogenous, and those measured with error.Read moreRead less
Bayesian Analysis of Treatment Effects in Experiments with Imperfect Compliance. This research has a potential to benefit society by providing methods to evaluate the effectiveness of medical treatments and socio-economic and health related interventions and policies based on experiments with imperfect compliance. The proposed methods are directly relevant to the second national research priority, as they can be used to test potential measures for preventative health care and to evaluate measure ....Bayesian Analysis of Treatment Effects in Experiments with Imperfect Compliance. This research has a potential to benefit society by providing methods to evaluate the effectiveness of medical treatments and socio-economic and health related interventions and policies based on experiments with imperfect compliance. The proposed methods are directly relevant to the second national research priority, as they can be used to test potential measures for preventative health care and to evaluate measures for strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric. The usefulness of our methods is demonstrated in the analysis of the effectiveness of a training program for the unemployed in alleviating negative mental health effects from job loss.Read moreRead less
Analysis of Drug Consumption in Australia Using New Microeconometric Techniques for Unit Record Data. The consumption of licit and illicit recreational drugs and its adverse health, social and economic effects are everyday topics in Australian society. Much debate has surrounded government drug policies implemented through education, legislation and taxation. This study will provide comprehensive empirical knowledge of Australians' consumption of alcohol, tobacco, prescription drugs for non-med ....Analysis of Drug Consumption in Australia Using New Microeconometric Techniques for Unit Record Data. The consumption of licit and illicit recreational drugs and its adverse health, social and economic effects are everyday topics in Australian society. Much debate has surrounded government drug policies implemented through education, legislation and taxation. This study will provide comprehensive empirical knowledge of Australians' consumption of alcohol, tobacco, prescription drugs for non-medical purpose, and illicit drugs such as heroin and cocaine. It will help identify social, economic and demographic determinants of drug consumption, information which is invaluable for targeting drug policies and education programs. New microeconometric techniques will also be developed that have wide application in other fields.Read moreRead less
An econometric analysis of the impact of education on health in developing countries. This project will provide empirical knowledge on whether education affects health over the life course in developing countries. This research will aid the design of more cost effective strategies aiming to reduce poverty and promote economic development, which will ultimately lead to a more prosperous and safe region and world.
Health Production Functions: Effects of Socioeconomic and Lifestyle Factors on Health Status. Improving the health and wellbeing of individuals is a priority for the Australian government. Empirical knowledge on the determinants of health is crucial for effective allocation of public health funds. We propose a thorough economic investigation into the interrelationships between self-assessed health, chronic conditions, obesity, private insurance status, and socioeconomic and lifestyle factors, us ....Health Production Functions: Effects of Socioeconomic and Lifestyle Factors on Health Status. Improving the health and wellbeing of individuals is a priority for the Australian government. Empirical knowledge on the determinants of health is crucial for effective allocation of public health funds. We propose a thorough economic investigation into the interrelationships between self-assessed health, chronic conditions, obesity, private insurance status, and socioeconomic and lifestyle factors, using advanced microeconometric techniques and comprehensive national and Victorian health surveys. We will link the micro-level findings to economic and policy implications for the Australian health sector and society. The research will be valuable in the design and evaluation of health promotion programs.Read moreRead less
Impacts of Population Ageing and Prevalence of Chronic Illnesses on Labour Market Outcomes and Health Service Utilisation. The Australian population is ageing due to the combined effects of increasing life expectancy and decreasing birth rate. The prevalence of major chronic illnesses including diabetes, heart disease and mental health conditions has also increased consistently. With a suite of state-of-the-art econometric and simulation models, we propose the first comprehensive analysis at the ....Impacts of Population Ageing and Prevalence of Chronic Illnesses on Labour Market Outcomes and Health Service Utilisation. The Australian population is ageing due to the combined effects of increasing life expectancy and decreasing birth rate. The prevalence of major chronic illnesses including diabetes, heart disease and mental health conditions has also increased consistently. With a suite of state-of-the-art econometric and simulation models, we propose the first comprehensive analysis at the individual level of the complex relationships between health status, chronic illnesses, labour market decisions, private health insurance status, and health service utilisations of older Australians. The research will enhance the technical rigour and capacity for analysing a range of health and ageing related policies and issues.Read moreRead less
Effects of Private Health Insurance on Health Care Usage and Health Outcomes in Australia. Australians spend more than $7 billion each year on private health insurance (PHI), of which government subsidies amount to more than $2 billion. There is, however, little understanding of how PHI affects health care usage and health outcomes. Having PHI is likely to result in better health for the insured, but more health resources are also likely to be used. Moreover, the health of the uninsured could b ....Effects of Private Health Insurance on Health Care Usage and Health Outcomes in Australia. Australians spend more than $7 billion each year on private health insurance (PHI), of which government subsidies amount to more than $2 billion. There is, however, little understanding of how PHI affects health care usage and health outcomes. Having PHI is likely to result in better health for the insured, but more health resources are also likely to be used. Moreover, the health of the uninsured could be adversely affected if health resources available to the public hospital sector are reduced. This research will inform health policymaking on the effects of subsidising PHI on health care usage and health outcomes.Read moreRead less
Partial Identification of Treatment Effects in Binary Response Models with Applications in Health Economics. The broad objectives of this project are to study the issues of partial identification in the context of models involving binary endogenous treatment variables and binary outcomes, and to investigate the implications for econometric estimation of policy effects in empirical economics. Identified sets for treatment effects for several Australian health economic applications will be estimat ....Partial Identification of Treatment Effects in Binary Response Models with Applications in Health Economics. The broad objectives of this project are to study the issues of partial identification in the context of models involving binary endogenous treatment variables and binary outcomes, and to investigate the implications for econometric estimation of policy effects in empirical economics. Identified sets for treatment effects for several Australian health economic applications will be estimated and compared with conventional point identified estimates. Performance of alternative bound estimators will be examined and particular attention given to the issue of the weakness of the instruments and the size of the bounds. The new theoretical developments in this literature have significant implications for empirical economics.Read moreRead less