Growing inequality in incomes and wealth and the taxation of capital income: an economic and legal analysis. The research combines the expertise of leading scholars in economics and law to produce proposals for reform of Australia's system of taxing capital and labour incomes. This issue is of central importance to Australia's future, in the light of the challenges posed by increasing inequality of incomes and wealth, globalisation and population ageing.
The impact of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) on economic growth and productivity, and the role of Government Policy. While it is widely agreed that the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has many national benefits, the role of law and policy on the extent of ICT uptake and related productivity effects have not been directly researched. A stronger research base on the role of law and policy on the use and economic effects of ICT can potentially create a numb ....The impact of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) on economic growth and productivity, and the role of Government Policy. While it is widely agreed that the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has many national benefits, the role of law and policy on the extent of ICT uptake and related productivity effects have not been directly researched. A stronger research base on the role of law and policy on the use and economic effects of ICT can potentially create a number of national and community benefits. It can assist Governments and firms to isolate the drivers of the information economy and economic growth; it can facilitate the development of appropriate policy and legislation, and inform better administration of existing policies.Read moreRead less
Towards better multidimensional well-being measurement. The research will develop enhanced multidimensional measures of well-being and provide guidance that will significantly improve their use and interpretation. It will provide insights that will better inform policies aimed at higher well-being levels.
Disclosure in patents, an economic analysis using computational linguistics. This project aims to analyse the disclosure of patents. To achieve economic growth, the patent system aims to provide incentives for research and development as well as to ensure knowledge is accessible as widely as possible. This project will explore and demonstrate the usefulness of computational linguistics in the economic analysis of disclosure in patents. In particular, the project will look at the role of readabi ....Disclosure in patents, an economic analysis using computational linguistics. This project aims to analyse the disclosure of patents. To achieve economic growth, the patent system aims to provide incentives for research and development as well as to ensure knowledge is accessible as widely as possible. This project will explore and demonstrate the usefulness of computational linguistics in the economic analysis of disclosure in patents. In particular, the project will look at the role of readability in the patent application and examination process. This will provide a strong potential to inform and improve patent examination processes and patent policy. Expected outcomes will enable society to achieve greater use of the knowledge embedded in the patent system, thereby contributing to higher economic growth.Read moreRead less
The impact of crime on the mental wellbeing of communities. Considering not only the direct impact of crime on the victims but also the indirect consequences of living in a community with a higher crime rate may in fact lead to a more accurate analysis of the size of the consequences of criminal activities on the society. Further, it may also be the case that the negative externality of crime on non-victims is much larger for some crimes than for others. If this were the case, it could have impl ....The impact of crime on the mental wellbeing of communities. Considering not only the direct impact of crime on the victims but also the indirect consequences of living in a community with a higher crime rate may in fact lead to a more accurate analysis of the size of the consequences of criminal activities on the society. Further, it may also be the case that the negative externality of crime on non-victims is much larger for some crimes than for others. If this were the case, it could have implications for the way in which police resources are presently distributed across different crimes. Better understanding the total societal cost of crime - to both victims and non-victims - could therefore help improve public policy. Read moreRead less
A Comparative Law and Economics Analysis of Class Actions in Australia, the US and the UK. Research on how class action law suits operate to enforce rules and rights in the civil justice system, can promote three of the four national research priorities. By enabling better enforcement of competition, contract and corporations law for consumers and investors encourages better performing markets, corporations, and in turn an innovation culture and economy. By enabling better enforcement of produ ....A Comparative Law and Economics Analysis of Class Actions in Australia, the US and the UK. Research on how class action law suits operate to enforce rules and rights in the civil justice system, can promote three of the four national research priorities. By enabling better enforcement of competition, contract and corporations law for consumers and investors encourages better performing markets, corporations, and in turn an innovation culture and economy. By enabling better enforcement of product safety laws (e.g. asbestos and tobacco) it will promote better products and services and thus better health of users over time. Finally by enabling better enforcement of environmental law it will help address the water crisis and climate change.Read moreRead less
The dynamics of economic and social change: An analysis of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey. This project will establish a program of research focused on understanding economic and social change and how such change affects individual Australians, their families and the communities in which they live. It will revolve around new panel data collected through the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey, Australia's first nationally representative househ ....The dynamics of economic and social change: An analysis of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey. This project will establish a program of research focused on understanding economic and social change and how such change affects individual Australians, their families and the communities in which they live. It will revolve around new panel data collected through the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey, Australia's first nationally representative household-based panel survey. The project will address a large number of research questions of fundamental importance to Australians and the way they live. These questions cover three main areas: (i) income, poverty and well-being; (ii) labour supply and work incentives; and (iii) the changing nature of work.Read moreRead less
Institutions for Food Security: Global Lessons from Rural India. Between 2006 and 2008, global progress in combating world hunger stalled. World food prices increased by 71.4% and an additional 115 million people joined the ranks of the undernourished. This is a human tragedy which has fuelled political and economic turmoil across many countries. India has 28% of the world's hungry, and is an increasingly important economic and political partner to Australia. This research will involve a team of ....Institutions for Food Security: Global Lessons from Rural India. Between 2006 and 2008, global progress in combating world hunger stalled. World food prices increased by 71.4% and an additional 115 million people joined the ranks of the undernourished. This is a human tragedy which has fuelled political and economic turmoil across many countries. India has 28% of the world's hungry, and is an increasingly important economic and political partner to Australia. This research will involve a team of Australian researchers working with Indian counterparts to develop a framework that explains what causes risk and resilience to food insecurity, and offers practical insights for policy-makers. Read moreRead less
Understanding online attention and user-generated content creation: An information consumption and production perspective. There is a strong practical need for methods for understanding and measuring online behaviour. In this project, economic index number theory will be used to study information consumption, leading to new ways of measuring online attention and influence. Techniques for studying scaling relationships in the physical world will be used to study information production, leading to ....Understanding online attention and user-generated content creation: An information consumption and production perspective. There is a strong practical need for methods for understanding and measuring online behaviour. In this project, economic index number theory will be used to study information consumption, leading to new ways of measuring online attention and influence. Techniques for studying scaling relationships in the physical world will be used to study information production, leading to new insights into the efficiency of production of user-generated content. The project will contribute to understanding how social media such as Twitter contribute to social unrest and affect consumer decisions, and how distributed online collaboration can produce economically-valuable information resources such as Wikipedia.Read moreRead less
Assessing willingness to pay for urban water, wastewater, gas and electricity delivery service standards. The utility industry is a substantial component of the Australian economy (2.2 % of GDP), underpinning national production. Recent infrastructure failures, costing up to $200 million per week, have been blamed largely on regulatory approaches that emphasise minimum price and cost solutions to utility service provision without any assessment or consideration of the willingness to pay for serv ....Assessing willingness to pay for urban water, wastewater, gas and electricity delivery service standards. The utility industry is a substantial component of the Australian economy (2.2 % of GDP), underpinning national production. Recent infrastructure failures, costing up to $200 million per week, have been blamed largely on regulatory approaches that emphasise minimum price and cost solutions to utility service provision without any assessment or consideration of the willingness to pay for service quality and the value people place on surety of supply. Research on the role of WTP for service standards in regulating price and service quality is required to prevent future infrastructure failures. This research will provide substantial economic benefits to Australia through improved regulation and better targeting of infrastructure investment.Read moreRead less