Young people's understandings of the relation between work, the labour market and education: Their origins and effects. Young people's pathways between school and work have become much more diverse and complex than in the past. Yet the impact of family background on their education and employment outcomes has hardly changed. This project focuses on young people's perceptions of the relation between work, education and the labour market and the pathways open to them. Taking account of recent m ....Young people's understandings of the relation between work, the labour market and education: Their origins and effects. Young people's pathways between school and work have become much more diverse and complex than in the past. Yet the impact of family background on their education and employment outcomes has hardly changed. This project focuses on young people's perceptions of the relation between work, education and the labour market and the pathways open to them. Taking account of recent major changes in the youth labour market, the research aims to understand the role of these perceptions in shaping young people's choices and pathways, how these vary according to social background and experience, and how they affect employment outcomes.Read moreRead less
Chief executive officer pay, incentives, talent and risk-taking: Excessive pay, regulation and the global financial crisis. The Prime Minister has requested the regulators, APRA and Treasury, to come up with rules that would prevent a repeat of the trillion dollar bailouts and guarantees to the financial sector and banks at risk of failure. Excessive pay and risk-taking by bank executives shoulder made the blame for the global crisis that has already cost Australian investors and taxpayers a siz ....Chief executive officer pay, incentives, talent and risk-taking: Excessive pay, regulation and the global financial crisis. The Prime Minister has requested the regulators, APRA and Treasury, to come up with rules that would prevent a repeat of the trillion dollar bailouts and guarantees to the financial sector and banks at risk of failure. Excessive pay and risk-taking by bank executives shoulder made the blame for the global crisis that has already cost Australian investors and taxpayers a sizeable portion of the nation's wealth. The project will greatly assist the regulators in this task. It will also identify compensation practices that reward good long-term performance without excessive pay. This could dramatically raise the performance of Australian companies and ameliorate the problem of dissatisfied investors and taxpayers.Read moreRead less
Human-capital acquisition, technological improvement and product-market competition: theory and evidence. Japan has achieved its economic growth at a remarkable pace in the postwar period, and has become one of Australia's most important trade partners. This project is expected to benefit the Australian business community and governmental institutions by offering systematic investigations, both theoretically and empirically, on the recent transition taking place in the Japanese economy from prev ....Human-capital acquisition, technological improvement and product-market competition: theory and evidence. Japan has achieved its economic growth at a remarkable pace in the postwar period, and has become one of Australia's most important trade partners. This project is expected to benefit the Australian business community and governmental institutions by offering systematic investigations, both theoretically and empirically, on the recent transition taking place in the Japanese economy from previously unexplored perspectives by capturing interconnections among employment/labour market practices, product-market competition, and government-business relationships. It is envisaged that Australian industries and government could gain useful information from this project for effective formulation of their international trade strategies and policies.Read moreRead less
A Review of Work for the Dole as a Labour Market Program. The project will review the Work for the Dole program in terms of its first formal objective (to install work habits in young people)and in the wider context of giving young unemployed people the skills and confidence that will increase their chances of finding employment. The principal research tools used will be sample surveys and in-depth interviews. An independent substantial review will give a firm basis for discussions of the progr ....A Review of Work for the Dole as a Labour Market Program. The project will review the Work for the Dole program in terms of its first formal objective (to install work habits in young people)and in the wider context of giving young unemployed people the skills and confidence that will increase their chances of finding employment. The principal research tools used will be sample surveys and in-depth interviews. An independent substantial review will give a firm basis for discussions of the program, including how it can be improved and whether or not, given the political imperatives to retain it,it is desirable to increase expenditure on it.Read moreRead less
Small firms' finances: effects on employment, wages and growth. The project aims to estimate how difficulties in accessing financial and credit markets affect small and medium enterprise (SME) decisions about employment, wages, entry and exit. Although the SME sector is Australia’s largest employer, the extent to which financial constraints affect these firms' market performance and their ability to create and sustain employment is unknown. The project plans to use an econometric analysis of fir ....Small firms' finances: effects on employment, wages and growth. The project aims to estimate how difficulties in accessing financial and credit markets affect small and medium enterprise (SME) decisions about employment, wages, entry and exit. Although the SME sector is Australia’s largest employer, the extent to which financial constraints affect these firms' market performance and their ability to create and sustain employment is unknown. The project plans to use an econometric analysis of firm level panel data to fill this gap. The intended outcome is micro-econometric findings tailored to improve targeted labour and financial policy. The expected benefit is to provide input to policy responses that support employment, productivity and wages in volatile market conditions.Read moreRead less
The training and job decisions of nurses: an integrated approach using panel surveys and dynamic discrete choice experiments. The nursing shortage in Australia is considered to be at crisis stage. The results of this study will lead to improved recruitment and retention of students in nursing, improved retention of new nurses in the health workforce, better design of nursing roles and job structure, and testing of the acceptability of changed health service delivery models. It will also lead to ....The training and job decisions of nurses: an integrated approach using panel surveys and dynamic discrete choice experiments. The nursing shortage in Australia is considered to be at crisis stage. The results of this study will lead to improved recruitment and retention of students in nursing, improved retention of new nurses in the health workforce, better design of nursing roles and job structure, and testing of the acceptability of changed health service delivery models. It will also lead to better health workforce planning. The study directly contributes to filling the gaps in health labour force quantitative studies identified in a recent Productivity Commission Report, and provides a basis for the implementation of the Commission's recommendations.Read moreRead less
Retirement asset decumulation: Adequacy, institutions and products. This proposal seeks to evaluate the present and future adequacy of retirement provision, and offers alternative, practical solutions to the problem of how to maximise the value of a retiree's accumulated assets and facilitate a financially secure retirement. First, a re-evaluation of the replacement rate as a measure of retirement provision adequacy will be undertaken. Second, the efficacy of new financial products and instituti ....Retirement asset decumulation: Adequacy, institutions and products. This proposal seeks to evaluate the present and future adequacy of retirement provision, and offers alternative, practical solutions to the problem of how to maximise the value of a retiree's accumulated assets and facilitate a financially secure retirement. First, a re-evaluation of the replacement rate as a measure of retirement provision adequacy will be undertaken. Second, the efficacy of new financial products and institutions designed to enhance the value of a retirement accumulation for retirement consumption will be analysed. Global trends towards population aging and increasing reliance on self-provision for retirement lends both urgency and significance to the proposed research.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
An Integrated Approach to the Timing of Retirement: Life Cycle, Labour Force Heterogeneity, Financial Status and Public Support. This project will generate new knowledge on household decision making over retirement timing. National benefits will be generated through improved institutional design and policy formulation, which in turn will promote a labour market conducive to increased mature-age participation. The project involves collaboration across several institutions and will contribute to t ....An Integrated Approach to the Timing of Retirement: Life Cycle, Labour Force Heterogeneity, Financial Status and Public Support. This project will generate new knowledge on household decision making over retirement timing. National benefits will be generated through improved institutional design and policy formulation, which in turn will promote a labour market conducive to increased mature-age participation. The project involves collaboration across several institutions and will contribute to the development of research expertise through the training of PhDs and research assistants, creating a critical threshold of integrated research into ageing. This will facilitate a world-class presence in this important domain, thus contributing directly to the National Research Priority of Ageing Well, Ageing Productively.Read moreRead less
Optimal Tax Policy Meets Modern Labour Supply Theory. This project aims to generate new evidence on the optimal design of the federal tax system. Specifically, it seeks to determine the optimal combination of taxes on income, capital and consumption to raise necessary revenue while minimizing disincentives for work and capital formation. The project is innovative because, for the first time, it does optimal tax calculations using models that account fully for how taxes affect human capital inves ....Optimal Tax Policy Meets Modern Labour Supply Theory. This project aims to generate new evidence on the optimal design of the federal tax system. Specifically, it seeks to determine the optimal combination of taxes on income, capital and consumption to raise necessary revenue while minimizing disincentives for work and capital formation. The project is innovative because, for the first time, it does optimal tax calculations using models that account fully for how taxes affect human capital investment and labour force participation. It aims to enhance or understanding of the optimal mix between taxes on earnings, capital and consumption, and the optimal degree of income tax progressivity. The benefit is a tax system better designed to promote economic efficiency and human capital formation. Read moreRead less