Priority Setting in Child Protection: developing an evidence-based strategy to reduce child abuse and neglect and associated harms. Persons who are potential, current or previous victims of child abuse and neglect are the primary beneficiaries of this research. The study will facilitate evidence-based funding decisions by government (and nongovernment organizations) integrating data on quality of life impacts (physical/mental health, educational, social etc), and the costs to society of dealing ....Priority Setting in Child Protection: developing an evidence-based strategy to reduce child abuse and neglect and associated harms. Persons who are potential, current or previous victims of child abuse and neglect are the primary beneficiaries of this research. The study will facilitate evidence-based funding decisions by government (and nongovernment organizations) integrating data on quality of life impacts (physical/mental health, educational, social etc), and the costs to society of dealing with the consequences of child abuse. The research has the potential to profoundly enhance the well-being of Australia's most vulnerable children, simultaneously addressing the large costs on agencies of dealing with child abuse. The methodology will be highly applicable to other complex social problems requiring whole of government strategies.Read moreRead less
Lifelong Education and Health Investment: Implications for Life Expectancy, Economic Growth and Public Policy. This project will provide Australian policymakers a clear picture of the complex interaction between various policy instruments including subsidies on health and education and income support for retirees and children on the one hand, and socioeconomic outcomes including saving rates, labour participation, productivity, fertility, life expectancy and inequality on the other hand. This kn ....Lifelong Education and Health Investment: Implications for Life Expectancy, Economic Growth and Public Policy. This project will provide Australian policymakers a clear picture of the complex interaction between various policy instruments including subsidies on health and education and income support for retirees and children on the one hand, and socioeconomic outcomes including saving rates, labour participation, productivity, fertility, life expectancy and inequality on the other hand. This knowledge can be used to frame government policies in the areas of health, education, superannuation and pension, and family support. In particular, the project will inform policymakers about the mix of private and public funding of the health system that can produce better health and social outcomes.Read moreRead less
Community-Led Sanitation Interventions :The Role of Social Capital. The economic and social wellbeing of its neighbours is important for Australia. This interest is often expressed through financial aid and the sharing of expertise. This research aims to enhance the effectiveness of financial aid by investigating the extent to which social capital is important in determining the success of a community-led development project. Thus, this research contributes to a body of knowledge that informs d ....Community-Led Sanitation Interventions :The Role of Social Capital. The economic and social wellbeing of its neighbours is important for Australia. This interest is often expressed through financial aid and the sharing of expertise. This research aims to enhance the effectiveness of financial aid by investigating the extent to which social capital is important in determining the success of a community-led development project. Thus, this research contributes to a body of knowledge that informs development policy, leading to more effective use of aid funds and to a more prosperous and safe region.
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Mis-reporting, adaptation and anchoring: the implications for self assessed health. In terms of targeting scarce public health resources, information concerning the true health status of different social groups is important. This project will provide more accurate information on the health of the Australian population using data already collected on a routine basis. Resources can then be targeted to reduce health inequalities.
Nanny state or good public policy: Do the benefits of mandatory health programs justify the loss of consumer choice? Governments are increasingly turning to mandatory programs to improve health. Such programs are appealing because there are high health benefits from universal participation and low costs for promotion and monitoring the program. However, this apparent benefit relies on restriction of personal choice, which may impose welfare losses on consumers. Evaluations generally ignore loss ....Nanny state or good public policy: Do the benefits of mandatory health programs justify the loss of consumer choice? Governments are increasingly turning to mandatory programs to improve health. Such programs are appealing because there are high health benefits from universal participation and low costs for promotion and monitoring the program. However, this apparent benefit relies on restriction of personal choice, which may impose welfare losses on consumers. Evaluations generally ignore loss of choice, despite evidence suggesting consumers value the ability to choose. This study will estimate the impact and value this loss of consumer choice, explore program specific factors and consumer characteristics influencing the valuation, and determine whether and how restricted choice should be explicitly considered when evaluating public health programs.Read moreRead less
Rural General Practitioners in Australia: Costs, Returns and Relative Work Value of Rural Compared with Urban Private General Practitioners. Aims:
* To conduct a rurally focused study of GPs in Australia, to address rural GPs' concerns about remuneration, and consumers' concerns about access to rural GPs.
* To examine costs, prices, returns and work value differentials between rural and urban GPs.
Significance:
* The first systematic economic evaluation of rural GP remuneration and work valu ....Rural General Practitioners in Australia: Costs, Returns and Relative Work Value of Rural Compared with Urban Private General Practitioners. Aims:
* To conduct a rurally focused study of GPs in Australia, to address rural GPs' concerns about remuneration, and consumers' concerns about access to rural GPs.
* To examine costs, prices, returns and work value differentials between rural and urban GPs.
Significance:
* The first systematic economic evaluation of rural GP remuneration and work value in Australia.
* Reflection of the profession's geographical heterogeneity in policy recommendations.
Expected outcomes:
* Improved measurements of effects of geographcial location on costs, remuneration and relative work value of rural GPs.
* Improved understanding of effects of differential rates of GP bulk-billing.Read moreRead less
Improving Patient Access To Novel Cancer Drugs In Australia: Striking The Balance
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$318,768.00
Summary
Cancer patients in Australia may experience delays before they can benefit from new expensive drugs because of the lengthy existing processes to evaluate new medicines by the Department of Health. I will study how to improve the existing drug evaluation processes to make timely but informed funding decisions. This work will improve patient outcomes from early access to effective new cancer drugs and help the government make a wiser spending of public funds.
Harm-minimisation policies and the economics of controlling illicit drug use. The use of illicit drugs and its consequences are of major concern in Australia. Policies seeking to directly curb illicit drug use have met with mixed success and, over time, pressure has been placed on policymakers to switch toward increased reliance on harm-minimisation policies. This switch can generate adverse incentive effects by reducing the user costs of illicit drug use which acts to increase illicit drug use. ....Harm-minimisation policies and the economics of controlling illicit drug use. The use of illicit drugs and its consequences are of major concern in Australia. Policies seeking to directly curb illicit drug use have met with mixed success and, over time, pressure has been placed on policymakers to switch toward increased reliance on harm-minimisation policies. This switch can generate adverse incentive effects by reducing the user costs of illicit drug use which acts to increase illicit drug use. Cost-effectively mitigating these adverse incentive effects can improve the effectiveness of policy by promoting harm- minimisation without seriously sacrificing drug use abstinence objectives. Read moreRead less
Improving Government Policy Making and Needs-Based Delivery of Services: Innovative Techniques to Enhance Administrative Data by Adding Socioeconomic Status. This project will create major national benefits by illuminating whether there are significant differences in access to or usage of such key government services as health and education by socio-economic status. Currently, most departments do not fully exploit their administrative data to answer such questions, because of the difficulty of ....Improving Government Policy Making and Needs-Based Delivery of Services: Innovative Techniques to Enhance Administrative Data by Adding Socioeconomic Status. This project will create major national benefits by illuminating whether there are significant differences in access to or usage of such key government services as health and education by socio-economic status. Currently, most departments do not fully exploit their administrative data to answer such questions, because of the difficulty of identifying the socio-economic status of users. This project will help Australia in its on-going but recently intensified efforts to make better use of its administrative data, resulting in a more efficient use of our data resources; better targeting of scare government resources; and improved identification of those in greatest need. Read moreRead less
The effects of child disability on carer's labour market outcomes in Australia. Increasing prevalence of children with disabilities in Australia accompanied by lack of research makes this study imperative. The innovative approach adopted in this project means there will be a number of national benefits resulting from this study.
- It will help governments in Australia make more informed policies toward providing assistance to affected families, which will reduce the burden on families caring ....The effects of child disability on carer's labour market outcomes in Australia. Increasing prevalence of children with disabilities in Australia accompanied by lack of research makes this study imperative. The innovative approach adopted in this project means there will be a number of national benefits resulting from this study.
- It will help governments in Australia make more informed policies toward providing assistance to affected families, which will reduce the burden on families caring for children with disabilities.
- More informed policy will improve the well-being of such children.
- It will advance knowledge in the fields of labour and health economics, and econometrics, and hence enhance Australian research reputation in the fields.Read moreRead less