Origins, evolution, and economic cost of gender norms. Gender norms are slow to change, and key drivers of economic development. This proposal leverages natural experiments to test their causal implications on two major channels of economic growth: the trust shared by individuals and the productivity of firms. It will use cutting-edge empirical techniques to generate novel measures of diversity and inclusion for Australian firms, and will conduct original fieldwork, matching experimental measure ....Origins, evolution, and economic cost of gender norms. Gender norms are slow to change, and key drivers of economic development. This proposal leverages natural experiments to test their causal implications on two major channels of economic growth: the trust shared by individuals and the productivity of firms. It will use cutting-edge empirical techniques to generate novel measures of diversity and inclusion for Australian firms, and will conduct original fieldwork, matching experimental measures of trust and cooperation with variation in traditional male versus female roles. This research aims at improving fundamental knowledge about how cultural norms shape economic outcomes and anticipates delivering practical policy recommendations for more efficient and inclusive economic growth. Read moreRead less
Policy Modelling for Ageing in Emerging Economies: The Case of Indonesia. This project, in collaboration with the World Bank and the Indonesian Planning Authority, will support major social and economic policy development in a rapidly ageing region. It will break new ground by developing a cutting-edge economic policy model reflecting salient features of ageing in emerging economies, taking into account the wider implications for education, employment, formalisation, growth, and retirement. It w ....Policy Modelling for Ageing in Emerging Economies: The Case of Indonesia. This project, in collaboration with the World Bank and the Indonesian Planning Authority, will support major social and economic policy development in a rapidly ageing region. It will break new ground by developing a cutting-edge economic policy model reflecting salient features of ageing in emerging economies, taking into account the wider implications for education, employment, formalisation, growth, and retirement. It will bring the armoury of policy analysis instruments available to these countries up to the standard now enjoyed by the developed world. Indonesia, on the brink of major pension reform, will be used as a test bed. Data sets will be developed to allow the model structure to be applied to other emerging economies in Asia. Read moreRead less
Oxide-semiconductor epitaxy: towards next generation nanoelectronics. This project aims to integrate high quality functional oxide heterostructures with semiconductor platforms and address the fundamental obstacles in oxides for highly efficient and high-speed transistor applications by engineering their electronic band structures. The project aims to establish a bridge between the diverse electronic properties of oxides and the established semiconductor platform, and generate new devices and fu ....Oxide-semiconductor epitaxy: towards next generation nanoelectronics. This project aims to integrate high quality functional oxide heterostructures with semiconductor platforms and address the fundamental obstacles in oxides for highly efficient and high-speed transistor applications by engineering their electronic band structures. The project aims to establish a bridge between the diverse electronic properties of oxides and the established semiconductor platform, and generate new devices and functionalities. Expected outcomes include epitaxial functional oxides on Gallium arsenide with ultrahigh, room-temperature sheet electron mobility and a comprehensive understanding of its microscopic origin. This will fundamentally change the route toward novel transistors based on high speed and low energy oxide electronics.Read moreRead less
Understanding Business Dynamism: Drivers and Macroeconomic Implications. Business dynamism – the process of firm entry, growth and exit – is key for productivity as it moves jobs and capital from less to more efficient uses. But, business dynamism (and with it growth in productivity and living standards) has slowed in many countries, including Australia. Grasping the reasons and economic effects of this is a challenge. This Project aims to reshape our thinking about business dynamism, its driver ....Understanding Business Dynamism: Drivers and Macroeconomic Implications. Business dynamism – the process of firm entry, growth and exit – is key for productivity as it moves jobs and capital from less to more efficient uses. But, business dynamism (and with it growth in productivity and living standards) has slowed in many countries, including Australia. Grasping the reasons and economic effects of this is a challenge. This Project aims to reshape our thinking about business dynamism, its drivers, and how it impacts the economy – from sources of long-run productivity growth and the cleansing effect of firm exit, to how climate risks impact business dynamism. The delivered empirical facts and models will aid policy design for reviving business dynamism, underpinning potentially large societal and economic gains.Read moreRead less
Hot carrier cooling mechanisms in nano structures. This project aims to systematically investigate possible mechanisms of hot carrier cooling in nano structures and to identify the most dominant mechanisms. These are important for efficient hot carrier solar cells and thermoelectrics. This project will develop new physics to understand hot carrier dynamics in nano structures. This project is expected to result in photovoltaic systems with a lower balance of system and levelised cost of electrici ....Hot carrier cooling mechanisms in nano structures. This project aims to systematically investigate possible mechanisms of hot carrier cooling in nano structures and to identify the most dominant mechanisms. These are important for efficient hot carrier solar cells and thermoelectrics. This project will develop new physics to understand hot carrier dynamics in nano structures. This project is expected to result in photovoltaic systems with a lower balance of system and levelised cost of electricity compared to conventional technologies. This should boost solar industry, create green jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.Read moreRead less
Biomimetic Design and Fabrication of Smart Dry Adhesives. Gecko footpads have unique structures with amazing features; imitating these fine bio-structures will lead to a multitude of innovations. This project aims to study fundamental principles governing adhesion phenomena for creating entirely new biomimetic nanomaterials with tunable adhesion, self-cleaning and controlled release capabilities. The gecko-mimicking materials and the associated dynamic effects will be characterized quantitativel ....Biomimetic Design and Fabrication of Smart Dry Adhesives. Gecko footpads have unique structures with amazing features; imitating these fine bio-structures will lead to a multitude of innovations. This project aims to study fundamental principles governing adhesion phenomena for creating entirely new biomimetic nanomaterials with tunable adhesion, self-cleaning and controlled release capabilities. The gecko-mimicking materials and the associated dynamic effects will be characterized quantitatively at multiscales and the nanoscale phenomena will be linked to macroscopic performance. The results of this research should provide a fundamental understanding of tunable adhesion mechanisms for the design and development of optimized materials with superb performance of practical significance.
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Productivity, growth and unemployment in economies with frictions. This project aims to examine decisions driving productivity, growth, and unemployment in macroeconomies with frictions. It examines how government (fiscal, monetary, and education) policies determine these decisions, and identifies the best configurations of these policies. It will construct dynamic general equilibrium models of economies to analyse the causal structure behind productivity changes, growth and unemployment. It wil ....Productivity, growth and unemployment in economies with frictions. This project aims to examine decisions driving productivity, growth, and unemployment in macroeconomies with frictions. It examines how government (fiscal, monetary, and education) policies determine these decisions, and identifies the best configurations of these policies. It will construct dynamic general equilibrium models of economies to analyse the causal structure behind productivity changes, growth and unemployment. It will conduct quantitative experiments using simulations, to estimate optimal government policy design settings. This project expects to identify policies that promote productivity, growth and employment.Read moreRead less
Improving payments for ecosystem services efficacy. This project aims to improve the cost-effectiveness of payments for ecosystem services (PES) programs in settings where deforestation risk is high. The project introduces a field experiment in Uganda in order to determine effective methods for monitoring compliance and setting payment levels. The project intends to examine whether program impacts are undermined by displacement of deforestation and if there are poverty reduction trade-offs inher ....Improving payments for ecosystem services efficacy. This project aims to improve the cost-effectiveness of payments for ecosystem services (PES) programs in settings where deforestation risk is high. The project introduces a field experiment in Uganda in order to determine effective methods for monitoring compliance and setting payment levels. The project intends to examine whether program impacts are undermined by displacement of deforestation and if there are poverty reduction trade-offs inherent in program design. The project expects to establish the costs of foregone production from land enrolled in the program, which are largely unknown. The findings will support efforts to create low cost technologies to solve conservation challenges and assist with the efficient allocation of scarce resources for environmental protection in both Australian and international contexts.Read moreRead less
Advanced lanthanide-doped nanomaterials for new-generation security inks. Current security labelling technologies using pattern coding (“barcoding”) and/or UV-excited phosphorescent inks are relatively easily counterfeited. The project aims to identify optimal design, fabrication and surface treatment of infrared-excited lanthanide nanoparticles for use as pigments in UV-curable polymer inks. This is expected to result in a new-generation of jet-printable security inks with ultimate capability f ....Advanced lanthanide-doped nanomaterials for new-generation security inks. Current security labelling technologies using pattern coding (“barcoding”) and/or UV-excited phosphorescent inks are relatively easily counterfeited. The project aims to identify optimal design, fabrication and surface treatment of infrared-excited lanthanide nanoparticles for use as pigments in UV-curable polymer inks. This is expected to result in a new-generation of jet-printable security inks with ultimate capability for multidimensional coding (using multiple luminescence wavelengths and lifetimes) and robust readability. Expected outcomes are world leadership in codable inks for secure labelling against counterfeiting, greatly enhancing both global ink-product sales and the value of Australian exports subject to product substitution.Read moreRead less