Voter behaviour and polarisation: The role of social preferences. This project aims to investigate how peer pressure and other social concerns affect voter participation, vote choice, and political polarisation. It will marry behavioural experimental economics with political economics and make use of complementary experimental methods that will allow for the study of carefully controlled elections, followed by a large-scale real-world test of the results. Expected outcomes include improved under ....Voter behaviour and polarisation: The role of social preferences. This project aims to investigate how peer pressure and other social concerns affect voter participation, vote choice, and political polarisation. It will marry behavioural experimental economics with political economics and make use of complementary experimental methods that will allow for the study of carefully controlled elections, followed by a large-scale real-world test of the results. Expected outcomes include improved understanding of how social media and other social factors, and political institutions such as compulsory voting, distort election representation and outcomes. Major benefits include the ability to advise policies to reduce polarisation and improve political institutions to ensure they reflect true societal preferences.Read moreRead less
Information acquisition and voting behaviour. This project aims to understand citizens’ decisions to acquire information about different policy proposals within a democracy and how such information affects their voting behaviour. Proper democracies rely on the informed participation of their citizens in the political debate and political institutions. The project intends to provide formal theories of information acquisition together with empirical evidence on how voting decisions are shaped by t ....Information acquisition and voting behaviour. This project aims to understand citizens’ decisions to acquire information about different policy proposals within a democracy and how such information affects their voting behaviour. Proper democracies rely on the informed participation of their citizens in the political debate and political institutions. The project intends to provide formal theories of information acquisition together with empirical evidence on how voting decisions are shaped by the quantity and quality of information. Understanding how citizens decide to acquire information would help devise policies to reduce polarisation and improve the quality of the political debate and the democracy.Read moreRead less
An investigation of the impacts of increased power supply to the national grid by wind generators on the Australian electricity industry. The aim of this project is to discover the most economical and effective way to accommodate large increases in wind power into the national grid and to understand the effects on the national electricity market. This is crucial to ensure stability of electricity supply and affordable prices in the transition towards a low carbon economy.
The Integrated Bio-economy Project and the Controlled Biosphere. This project aims to develop advanced controlled environment production systems (Controlled Biosphere) that exceed the industry standard for profitability, sustainability and climatic resilience. It will generate new knowledge and innovations in technology integration through a highly multi-disciplinary approach. The project outcomes will yield Techno-Economic and Life-Cycle Analyses, designs of the Controlled Biosphere and support ....The Integrated Bio-economy Project and the Controlled Biosphere. This project aims to develop advanced controlled environment production systems (Controlled Biosphere) that exceed the industry standard for profitability, sustainability and climatic resilience. It will generate new knowledge and innovations in technology integration through a highly multi-disciplinary approach. The project outcomes will yield Techno-Economic and Life-Cycle Analyses, designs of the Controlled Biosphere and supporting policy frameworks. The benefits of this project address worsening resource constraints (e.g. available fresh water, arable land, nutrients); By 2050 we will require 70% more food, and 80% greenhouse gas emissions reductions, to maintain economic, social, political and climate security.Read moreRead less
Economics of Conserving Australian Tropical Wildlife: An Analysis of the Role of Economic Valuation, Property Rights and Commercialisation. Australian tropical native animals are selected to analyse economic valuation (use and non-use valuation) of wildlife species and to assess systematically the role of property rights and commercialisation in conservation. The project will (1) reduce bias of Australian economic studies in favour of temperate species; (2) answer several unresolved questions ra ....Economics of Conserving Australian Tropical Wildlife: An Analysis of the Role of Economic Valuation, Property Rights and Commercialisation. Australian tropical native animals are selected to analyse economic valuation (use and non-use valuation) of wildlife species and to assess systematically the role of property rights and commercialisation in conservation. The project will (1) reduce bias of Australian economic studies in favour of temperate species; (2) answer several unresolved questions raised in the Parlimentary Report on Commercial Utilisation of Australian Wildlife; (3) advance economic theory (e.g. relating to dynamic influences on economic valuation) and provide new insights into property rights making use of empirical and experimental results, and (4) thereby contribute to public policy decision-making.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
Assessing the impacts of proposed carbon trading and tax schemes on the Australian electricity industry and the overall economy. Currently, policymakers require a much clearer understanding of the impacts of different carbon abatement policies. Mounting evidence on global warming is making this an increasingly urgent priority. The proposed project is specifically concerned with using state of the art economic modelling approaches to give the best advice possible to policymakers in crafting an e ....Assessing the impacts of proposed carbon trading and tax schemes on the Australian electricity industry and the overall economy. Currently, policymakers require a much clearer understanding of the impacts of different carbon abatement policies. Mounting evidence on global warming is making this an increasingly urgent priority. The proposed project is specifically concerned with using state of the art economic modelling approaches to give the best advice possible to policymakers in crafting an environmentally sustainable set of economic policy instruments that can maintain our enviable standard of living well into the future. The findings of the project will be available before the new Kyoto negotiation round commences.Read moreRead less
The Market for Technology in Australia. Over the last 5 years, formalised markets for technology have accelerated in the US. However, there is no recognised formal market in Australia. Results from our primary data collection and analysis will highlight whether deficiencies in the market for technology are creating obstacles for the commercialisation of Australian technology. This is a particularly important issue for Australia given our relative isolation arising from geographical distance and ....The Market for Technology in Australia. Over the last 5 years, formalised markets for technology have accelerated in the US. However, there is no recognised formal market in Australia. Results from our primary data collection and analysis will highlight whether deficiencies in the market for technology are creating obstacles for the commercialisation of Australian technology. This is a particularly important issue for Australia given our relative isolation arising from geographical distance and lack of attachment to a major trading bloc such as the EU or NAFTA.Read moreRead less
Regional development of audiovisual industries in the digital era: Prospects for the Northern Rivers region of NSW. This project explores drivers and impediments within audiovisualindustries in the global digital era that impact on the industry's develoment in non-metropolitan regions. The project uses the Northern Rivers region of NSW as the major case study. It will evaluate opportunities arising from technological, economic and societal changes associated with the digital media era and iden ....Regional development of audiovisual industries in the digital era: Prospects for the Northern Rivers region of NSW. This project explores drivers and impediments within audiovisualindustries in the global digital era that impact on the industry's develoment in non-metropolitan regions. The project uses the Northern Rivers region of NSW as the major case study. It will evaluate opportunities arising from technological, economic and societal changes associated with the digital media era and identify relevant public policy influences. It will facilitate the development of tools and strategies for regional development practitioners and entrepreneurs in the 'Creative Industries' sector. It will highlight policy instruments for governments wanting to take advantage of benefits from the 'new' services and knowledge-based economies.Read moreRead less
Determining urban water conservation and management strategies: a novel approach using field experiment and survey data. The project's national benefits are consistent with the research priorities that evaluate an environmentally sustainable Australia through efficient and sustainable water use. The project explores how households react to different demand side instruments and identifies water saving strategies preferred by the public. The findings can be used by decision-makers to select eff ....Determining urban water conservation and management strategies: a novel approach using field experiment and survey data. The project's national benefits are consistent with the research priorities that evaluate an environmentally sustainable Australia through efficient and sustainable water use. The project explores how households react to different demand side instruments and identifies water saving strategies preferred by the public. The findings can be used by decision-makers to select effective instruments to enhance water conservation, reduce water consumption and therefore use water sustainably according to Australia's ecological means. Read moreRead less