Private Responses to Demographic Change and Pension Reform in Urban China. Social, economic, and political stability in China is important for Australia and its business community due to the sheer size of China and its market. The rapid aging and significant social welfare reform is a potential instability source. This project contributes to the improvement of policy making in this area, which will enhance China's long term stability. This study provides detailed information on Chinese household ....Private Responses to Demographic Change and Pension Reform in Urban China. Social, economic, and political stability in China is important for Australia and its business community due to the sheer size of China and its market. The rapid aging and significant social welfare reform is a potential instability source. This project contributes to the improvement of policy making in this area, which will enhance China's long term stability. This study provides detailed information on Chinese household behaviour in pension financing, which may be helpful to the Australian business sector in making judgments on important economic relationships in the Chinese insurance market. Australia is also facing a changing age structure and seeking financial solutions. Our study may feed into improved research in this area.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
Creating effective local labour markets - a new framework for regional employment policy. The Project will develop a new framework for designing regional employment policy aimed at providing effective solutions to persistently high unemployment across Australia. It will integrate the renewed international focus on public employment strategies and local partnerships with existing and other emerging policy directions. The international experience in adapting national employment policy to local con ....Creating effective local labour markets - a new framework for regional employment policy. The Project will develop a new framework for designing regional employment policy aimed at providing effective solutions to persistently high unemployment across Australia. It will integrate the renewed international focus on public employment strategies and local partnerships with existing and other emerging policy directions. The international experience in adapting national employment policy to local conditions and the feasibility of local public job creation will be evaluated. The findings will refine a proposal for a Community Development Job Guarantee. The Project will develop innovative assessment mechanisms for matching the local unemployed with local job opportunities to enhance regional labour market outcomes.Read moreRead less
Creating effective employment solutions for youth with psychosis. Young people with severe mental illness face the general difficulty of finding paid work, and the specific difficulty of finding employment which can accommodate their health needs. Without early intervention, and access to supported employment, health and rehabilitation services, these young Australians face long-term welfare dependency. This Project will identify leading international models that provide supported employment for ....Creating effective employment solutions for youth with psychosis. Young people with severe mental illness face the general difficulty of finding paid work, and the specific difficulty of finding employment which can accommodate their health needs. Without early intervention, and access to supported employment, health and rehabilitation services, these young Australians face long-term welfare dependency. This Project will identify leading international models that provide supported employment for young people with psychosis and examine why such effective and integrated support models have not been implemented domestically. The Project will then develop a detailed policy and funding framework to facilitate the adoption or adaptation of international best practice in Australia.Read moreRead less
Low Skill Workers in Australia. This project will describe and analyse determinants of labour market outcomes for low-skill workers in Australia. The main themes are to examine effects of business cycle influences, training programs, and the experience of retrenchment, on earnings and employment outcomes for low skill labour force participants. With the Australian Bureau of Statistics as an Industry Partner - providing access to data and guidance otherwise unavailable - the project can make a ....Low Skill Workers in Australia. This project will describe and analyse determinants of labour market outcomes for low-skill workers in Australia. The main themes are to examine effects of business cycle influences, training programs, and the experience of retrenchment, on earnings and employment outcomes for low skill labour force participants. With the Australian Bureau of Statistics as an Industry Partner - providing access to data and guidance otherwise unavailable - the project can make a highly original contribution to understanding key determinants of labour market performance of low skill workers. That enhanced understanding will improve knowledge of how to design public policy to assist those workers. Read moreRead less
Youth in Australia: Education and Work. This project examines, in an integrated way, the education decisions, transition from school to work, and the early labour market experience of youth from 1975 to the present time. The recent emphasis on Australia as a Knowledge Nation and a New Economy indicates that study of education decisions is a high priority. Similarly, pathways from school to work and the cumulative disadvantage that many youth experience in the labour market are leading contempo ....Youth in Australia: Education and Work. This project examines, in an integrated way, the education decisions, transition from school to work, and the early labour market experience of youth from 1975 to the present time. The recent emphasis on Australia as a Knowledge Nation and a New Economy indicates that study of education decisions is a high priority. Similarly, pathways from school to work and the cumulative disadvantage that many youth experience in the labour market are leading contemporary economic and social issues. The project is expected to yield insights into the determinants of educational attainment, best pathways and the channels of influence on labour market success and failure that will be policy relevant and publishable in refereed journals.Read moreRead less
Wage Determination and the New Household Economics. By linking wage outcomes and occupational attainment to home time activities and the human capital and other characteristics of partners, this project should help establish the basis for the payoffs to schooling, the gender pay gap and the marriage wage premium in Australia. A focus on the household allocation of time, with a possible emphasis on child care, may emerge as an important consideration in discussion of the gender wage gap, and of ....Wage Determination and the New Household Economics. By linking wage outcomes and occupational attainment to home time activities and the human capital and other characteristics of partners, this project should help establish the basis for the payoffs to schooling, the gender pay gap and the marriage wage premium in Australia. A focus on the household allocation of time, with a possible emphasis on child care, may emerge as an important consideration in discussion of the gender wage gap, and of the glass ceiling effects shown in recent research and in the media to be an important feature of the Australian labour market.Read moreRead less
Examining Overeducation and Undereducation in the Immigrant Labour Market: An International Case Study Approach. Overseas research has shown that wages and job satisfaction are affected by the degree to which workers' skills are matched to the requirements of their jobs. Examination of this issue for Australia within an international case study approach will identify avenues through which the matching function of the labour market can be improved, and hence economic efficiency enhanced. This wil ....Examining Overeducation and Undereducation in the Immigrant Labour Market: An International Case Study Approach. Overseas research has shown that wages and job satisfaction are affected by the degree to which workers' skills are matched to the requirements of their jobs. Examination of this issue for Australia within an international case study approach will identify avenues through which the matching function of the labour market can be improved, and hence economic efficiency enhanced. This will benefit Australia in that it will provide a basis through which worker satisfaction, lifetime outcomes and aggregate output can be enhanced through a more effective use of our skill-base, and hence permit a strengthening of our social and economic fabric. Read moreRead less
Higher Education: Access and Equity. This project will study the determinants of the mix of higher education participants within a comprehensive framework that will provide empirical evidence on the fundamental issues of access and equity in the higher education system. It will examine the consequences of the current funding arrangements for higher education in Australia, and explore potential modifications to these funding arrangements. This project should help strengthen the higher educatio ....Higher Education: Access and Equity. This project will study the determinants of the mix of higher education participants within a comprehensive framework that will provide empirical evidence on the fundamental issues of access and equity in the higher education system. It will examine the consequences of the current funding arrangements for higher education in Australia, and explore potential modifications to these funding arrangements. This project should help strengthen the higher education sector, and so help Australia to compete in an increasingly technology-driven marketplace. The outcomes of the project will include discussion papers, workshops and a number of papers in international, refereed journals, and in this way it will increase, and render more informed, debate on higher education issues in Australia. As the Industry Partner is the Department of Education, Science and Training, the research will be conducted within a dynamic policy setting.Read moreRead less
High-skilled immigrants: Improved methods for enhancing absorption and addressing negative assimilation. This project will help Australia to design better migration and immigrant settlement policies. It will provide policy-makers with information on the economic and social adjustment of high-skilled immigrants in a global economy, and hasten the contribution of these immigrants to the development of Australia's technological capabilities. This, in turn, will increase Australia's production oppor ....High-skilled immigrants: Improved methods for enhancing absorption and addressing negative assimilation. This project will help Australia to design better migration and immigrant settlement policies. It will provide policy-makers with information on the economic and social adjustment of high-skilled immigrants in a global economy, and hasten the contribution of these immigrants to the development of Australia's technological capabilities. This, in turn, will increase Australia's production opportunities. The research will also help ensure that highly trained researchers are available for acquiring the knowledge that is important in a multicultural society such as Australia, and will further enhance our understanding of our region and the world.Read moreRead less