Survival of Australia's Family Farms: Capital Raising and Credit Access. Family-run farms are an integral part of rural Australia. Given the evolving global financial crisis and the expanding complexity of managing a family farm in Australia due to increasing competition from large incorporated holdings and overseas producers, a persisting drought, rising climate variability, and constraining carbon markets, one critical issue for the sustainability of family farms is their ability to access an ....Survival of Australia's Family Farms: Capital Raising and Credit Access. Family-run farms are an integral part of rural Australia. Given the evolving global financial crisis and the expanding complexity of managing a family farm in Australia due to increasing competition from large incorporated holdings and overseas producers, a persisting drought, rising climate variability, and constraining carbon markets, one critical issue for the sustainability of family farms is their ability to access and manage successfully competitive sources of credit. This study examines the extent to which family farms are currently at a disadvantage, and what policies could be implemented to ensure their sustainability into the future via access to competitive lines of credit and appropriate financial management practices.Read moreRead less
Designing Weather Derivatives and Yield Index Contracts for Rural Australia. This project addresses the security of communities in rural areas. Successful risk management based on weather derivatives and yield index contracts will stabilise the income of rural industries and improve the financial viability of rural communities. It will allow systemic risks from climate change to be reinsured with financial institutions, maintain some of Australia's most important export industries and help maint ....Designing Weather Derivatives and Yield Index Contracts for Rural Australia. This project addresses the security of communities in rural areas. Successful risk management based on weather derivatives and yield index contracts will stabilise the income of rural industries and improve the financial viability of rural communities. It will allow systemic risks from climate change to be reinsured with financial institutions, maintain some of Australia's most important export industries and help maintain leadership in climate risk research. It will use state of the art methods to derive and estimate nonlinear yield indexes, and develop new option pricing methods to value the premium that farmers should pay for a yield index contract. Finally it will evaluate the likely adoption by farmers using nonlinear portfolio theory.Read moreRead less
Market Contingent Hierarchies: Theory and Evidence. Operating in a small open economy trying to pursue an export-led strategy for economic growth, Australian firms are increasingly exposed to the types of market uncertainties that are the subject of this project. Australian firms cannot rely on economies of scale developed through large domestic markets but must instead depend on innovation and organisational nimbleness to exploit opportunities as they appear. This project will develop and test ....Market Contingent Hierarchies: Theory and Evidence. Operating in a small open economy trying to pursue an export-led strategy for economic growth, Australian firms are increasingly exposed to the types of market uncertainties that are the subject of this project. Australian firms cannot rely on economies of scale developed through large domestic markets but must instead depend on innovation and organisational nimbleness to exploit opportunities as they appear. This project will develop and test with Australian data the organisational theories necessary for the international success of Australian firms. Read moreRead less
Modelling the Quality of Hospital Care in Australia. It is estimated that substandard quality of hospital care causes around 4,500 deaths and 12,500 cases of permanent disability per year. Results from the study will support the implementation of quality control programs to help prevent unnecessary harm to patients, improve the quality of hospital care, and more generally, promote the objectives of the Australian health care system. The envisaged outcomes advance national research priorities by ....Modelling the Quality of Hospital Care in Australia. It is estimated that substandard quality of hospital care causes around 4,500 deaths and 12,500 cases of permanent disability per year. Results from the study will support the implementation of quality control programs to help prevent unnecessary harm to patients, improve the quality of hospital care, and more generally, promote the objectives of the Australian health care system. The envisaged outcomes advance national research priorities by improving health care provided to children and the elderly. The Fellowship will help alleviate the shortage of health economists in Australia by improving my own skills and supporting me to train junior staff.Read moreRead less
A Synthesis of Agency and Managerial Power Theories and Its Applications to Corporate Governance, Management Compensation, and Firm Performance. The existing models of corporate governance in economics and finance based on agency theory do not successfully portray all modern corporations. Thus the importance of a new and rigorous way to study corporate governance can be hardly exaggerated. This project will provide a synthesized theory of corporate governance and is expected to produce highest- ....A Synthesis of Agency and Managerial Power Theories and Its Applications to Corporate Governance, Management Compensation, and Firm Performance. The existing models of corporate governance in economics and finance based on agency theory do not successfully portray all modern corporations. Thus the importance of a new and rigorous way to study corporate governance can be hardly exaggerated. This project will provide a synthesized theory of corporate governance and is expected to produce highest-quality research publishable in top-tier journals. This will, among others, enhance Australia's standing as a knowledge nation. This project is also expected to contribute to the discussions on how to improve corporate governance and regulation of management compensation both in Australia and abroad. Read moreRead less
What do boards do? The measurement of board activity, its impact on firm valuation and board responses to the financial crisis. This study examines what corporate boards do using a novel measurement approach. It is expected that this measure will be widely adopted by industry and academia.
An empirical analysis of structural cost management decision making. This study analyses the rationale adopted by firms in implementing cost management choices with significant social and economic consequences. Layoffs, across-the-board cost cuts and off-shoring are significant influences on workforce participation levels in the Australian economy. This study explores the factors associated with firms and managers that lead to systematic preferences for certain types of cost management respons ....An empirical analysis of structural cost management decision making. This study analyses the rationale adopted by firms in implementing cost management choices with significant social and economic consequences. Layoffs, across-the-board cost cuts and off-shoring are significant influences on workforce participation levels in the Australian economy. This study explores the factors associated with firms and managers that lead to systematic preferences for certain types of cost management responses. In analysing these decisions in a range of organizational settings, and seeking to establish best practice benchmarks in innovative cost management practice, this study directly supports the government's workforce participation agenda. Read moreRead less
Public-Private-Partnership Governance and Performance: An Empirical Assessment. While Australia's rural and regional communities require improved infrastructure services at reduced costs and higher quality; infrastructure costs are significant and governments' funds are insufficient to meet demand. Public-private-partnerships (PPPs), if they work successfully, can be the key to meet this demand. As PPPs reduce the financial investment that governments need to make, the greater the opportunity fo ....Public-Private-Partnership Governance and Performance: An Empirical Assessment. While Australia's rural and regional communities require improved infrastructure services at reduced costs and higher quality; infrastructure costs are significant and governments' funds are insufficient to meet demand. Public-private-partnerships (PPPs), if they work successfully, can be the key to meet this demand. As PPPs reduce the financial investment that governments need to make, the greater the opportunity for considered infrastructure development, if the PPPs are successful and meet their intended financial and social objectives. Thus, a better understanding of the performance outcomes of different governance mechanisms in PPPs can result in less expensive and better infrastructure services for Australia's communities.Read moreRead less
Outcome Trust: An Experimental Validation. Scholars have studied trust from a host of disciplinary perspectives. With such a diversity of scholarship, we find both a conflict over approaches and methods as well as the inevitable differences about the fundamental nature of the concept of trust. Bhattacharya, Devinney & Pillutla develop a remarkably robust operational model of trust that is a function of two factors, the uncertainty faced by the parties to a relationship and the conjectures they ....Outcome Trust: An Experimental Validation. Scholars have studied trust from a host of disciplinary perspectives. With such a diversity of scholarship, we find both a conflict over approaches and methods as well as the inevitable differences about the fundamental nature of the concept of trust. Bhattacharya, Devinney & Pillutla develop a remarkably robust operational model of trust that is a function of two factors, the uncertainty faced by the parties to a relationship and the conjectures they form about each other's actions. We propose to test this formulation rigorously, using experimental methods, thereby allowing us to broaden our understanding of the critical concept of trust.Read moreRead less
Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development - Grant ID: DI0989055
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$55,000.00
Summary
Private Sector Workplace Employment Programs for Indigenous Australians. The research examines the workplace programs aimed at Indigenous employment in the top 50 companies in Australia. It identifies workplace conditions and policies that govern the success of such programs and provides a benchmark for workplace program development to assist Indigenous Australians, one of the most disadvantaged groups in the labour market.