International comparisons of retirement decisions and well-being of mature age populations: applied micro-economic analyses. Australia needs a pension reform to promote longer working lives of mature people in a health- and productivity-enhancing way, that is also financially sustainable. This study uses cutting-edge methodology and data to analyse decisions surrounding how mature people disengage from employment towards their eventual permanent retirement, and how these decisions relate to thei ....International comparisons of retirement decisions and well-being of mature age populations: applied micro-economic analyses. Australia needs a pension reform to promote longer working lives of mature people in a health- and productivity-enhancing way, that is also financially sustainable. This study uses cutting-edge methodology and data to analyse decisions surrounding how mature people disengage from employment towards their eventual permanent retirement, and how these decisions relate to their health and well-being. It compares and contrasts Australia with the UK, Germany and the US to derive lessons for developing evidence-based pension reform. International comparative research enables the identification of important policy, institutional and/or cultural differences and lessons that may well be missed by single country studies.Read moreRead less
Achieving a Skilled and Sustainable Aged Care Workforce for Australia. Demand for aged care services in Australia has reached record levels and is set to rise steeply due to population ageing. The Productivity Commission identified the sector’s need to provide more care services, to expand consumer-directed care and to improve the quality of care. Currently, there is little evidence as to how the workforce can expand and change to meet these challenges. This project aims to provide new evidence ....Achieving a Skilled and Sustainable Aged Care Workforce for Australia. Demand for aged care services in Australia has reached record levels and is set to rise steeply due to population ageing. The Productivity Commission identified the sector’s need to provide more care services, to expand consumer-directed care and to improve the quality of care. Currently, there is little evidence as to how the workforce can expand and change to meet these challenges. This project aims to provide new evidence on how to attract, retain and up-skill workers in a rapidly expanding demand environment, as the sector strives to achieve a sustainable and skilled workforce fit for the future needs of older Australians.Read moreRead less
A dynamic understanding of labour market mobility of new migrants. Australia is an immigrant country. Despite this, we know little about the factors that enable some migrants to integrate quickly and successfully into the labour market, while others do not. This project will use an excellent set of longitudinal data that follow new migrants over a period of three and a half years. It will apply sophisticated panel data econometric techniques to identify the causes of their success or otherwise ....A dynamic understanding of labour market mobility of new migrants. Australia is an immigrant country. Despite this, we know little about the factors that enable some migrants to integrate quickly and successfully into the labour market, while others do not. This project will use an excellent set of longitudinal data that follow new migrants over a period of three and a half years. It will apply sophisticated panel data econometric techniques to identify the causes of their success or otherwise in the labour market. It will also examine the link between labour market success and the overall settlement experience, including satisfaction with life in Australia, of migrants.Read moreRead less
Understanding the Effects of News Shocks on Macroeconomic Fluctuations. There are significant potential benefits for Australia. First, it could lead to more effective policymaking, with an understanding of how policy in one branch of the government can affect other sectors that have not been considered before. For example, changes in fiscal policy can affect not just growth, but also unemployment, inflation, and the income distribution. Second, this project will make a contribution to the resear ....Understanding the Effects of News Shocks on Macroeconomic Fluctuations. There are significant potential benefits for Australia. First, it could lead to more effective policymaking, with an understanding of how policy in one branch of the government can affect other sectors that have not been considered before. For example, changes in fiscal policy can affect not just growth, but also unemployment, inflation, and the income distribution. Second, this project will make a contribution to the research training of new macroeconomists in Australia: we will train three PhD students in the very latest methods. We also will organize a conference and bring the very top economists in the world to work with researchers here, and to consider issues surrounding the Australian economy. Read moreRead less
The impact of globalisation on inequality in a small regional economy: South Australia 1845-1925. The impact of globalisation on income inequality is currently of great concern to many. Globalisation, however, is not a new phenomenon. This study examines the effect of global forces on wage and personal wealth inequality in South Australia in the 19th and early 20th century. While other studies have examined the impact of trade on inequality at an aggregate level, using questionable comparisons, ....The impact of globalisation on inequality in a small regional economy: South Australia 1845-1925. The impact of globalisation on income inequality is currently of great concern to many. Globalisation, however, is not a new phenomenon. This study examines the effect of global forces on wage and personal wealth inequality in South Australia in the 19th and early 20th century. While other studies have examined the impact of trade on inequality at an aggregate level, using questionable comparisons, this study represents a conceptual leap forward by directly estimating changes in income and wealth inequality, and their association with changes in wages, commodity and asset prices over an extended period in a small regional economy.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354852
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Sustainable Regions for a Competitive Australia. How can metropolitan, rural and remote regions balance economic and job growth, with environmental and social sustainability? This Initiative establishes a Network of researchers to work collaboratively on questions of environmental best practice, community development, regional governance, labour markets, economic development and technology transfer. The Network's vision is to find ways to use existing and future research to help make Australia ....Sustainable Regions for a Competitive Australia. How can metropolitan, rural and remote regions balance economic and job growth, with environmental and social sustainability? This Initiative establishes a Network of researchers to work collaboratively on questions of environmental best practice, community development, regional governance, labour markets, economic development and technology transfer. The Network's vision is to find ways to use existing and future research to help make Australia's regions more competitive on world markets and more environmentally sustainable, and to help build stronger regional communities. The Network cuts across traditional discipline boundaries to find integrated solutions to the real problems confronting Australian regions.Read moreRead less
Understanding, measuring and managing the benefits of urban waterways. This project aims to improve understanding of the contribution of urban waterways to enhanced liveability in cities. Australia needs better water resource management and the rapid growth of Australia’s cities places increased importance on managing natural assets in metropolitan areas. The project focuses on clarifying the link between the benefits of waterways and the measurement techniques used by economists, which in turn ....Understanding, measuring and managing the benefits of urban waterways. This project aims to improve understanding of the contribution of urban waterways to enhanced liveability in cities. Australia needs better water resource management and the rapid growth of Australia’s cities places increased importance on managing natural assets in metropolitan areas. The project focuses on clarifying the link between the benefits of waterways and the measurement techniques used by economists, which in turn inform management choices. The project aims to fill an important gap between the psychology and economics disciplines and outputs should significantly improve the way waterways are valued and managed. This is intended to offer benefits for urban residents and to improve the methodologies used for environmental valuation.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150100328
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$374,000.00
Summary
Minimising transaction costs in Murray-Darling Basin water reform. Transaction costs provide social, economic, environmental and political barriers to the effectiveness of water reallocation policy in Australia. These costs are often difficult to quantify, but potentially are subject to measurement. This project aims to develop a comprehensive transaction cost framework for the Murray-Darling Basin that can be used to capture and measure transaction costs related to water policy. Further, the sc ....Minimising transaction costs in Murray-Darling Basin water reform. Transaction costs provide social, economic, environmental and political barriers to the effectiveness of water reallocation policy in Australia. These costs are often difficult to quantify, but potentially are subject to measurement. This project aims to develop a comprehensive transaction cost framework for the Murray-Darling Basin that can be used to capture and measure transaction costs related to water policy. Further, the scope of the cost measurement will involve a variety of data collection approaches. Outcomes include better water policy and management from arrangements that will span the divide between the Basin Plan and its implementation.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120100635
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
The effects of international commodity price shocks on state fragility. This project examines the effects that commodity price shocks have on state fragility in developing countries. Outcomes that will be analysed include, but are not limited to, the transition from autocracy to democracy, the stability of democracy, the risk of civil conflict, food riots, and the survival probability of dictators.
Political economy of distortions to global agricultural markets. Farmers, agribusiness and governments in Australia and other food-exporting nations have put enormous efforts into seeking reductions in agricultural protectionism, particularly in the past two decades via the Cairns Group in GATT/WTO negotiations but also in bilateral and regional integration initiatives. Yet levels of protection have fallen little for agriculture relative to manufacturing in high-income countries, and in some new ....Political economy of distortions to global agricultural markets. Farmers, agribusiness and governments in Australia and other food-exporting nations have put enormous efforts into seeking reductions in agricultural protectionism, particularly in the past two decades via the Cairns Group in GATT/WTO negotiations but also in bilateral and regional integration initiatives. Yet levels of protection have fallen little for agriculture relative to manufacturing in high-income countries, and in some newly industrializing countries that indicator has been rising. Improving our understanding as to why that is the case will ensure Australia gets a better return from its investment in that area of commercial diplomacy.Read moreRead less