ARC Research Network for Economic Design. The Economic Design Network is a partnership of more than one hundred researchers and over forty international universities and research centres. The Network will support cross disciplinary research and policy innovation using state of the art techniques in economic theory and experimental economics. It will create practical policy tools that can be used to solve complex social and economic problems in industry economics, health economics and environment ....ARC Research Network for Economic Design. The Economic Design Network is a partnership of more than one hundred researchers and over forty international universities and research centres. The Network will support cross disciplinary research and policy innovation using state of the art techniques in economic theory and experimental economics. It will create practical policy tools that can be used to solve complex social and economic problems in industry economics, health economics and environmental policy. By linking Australian mid and early career researchers into multidisciplinary teams based around the world's top experimental economics laboratories, it will create a world class economic design capacity in Australia.Read moreRead less
Tackling the Tough Problems in Productivity Measurement: Infrastructure, Services and R&D. Productivity is seen as a main driver of economic growth and welfare improvements. Productivity indexes are used in a variety of policy contexts, in particular in determining the effectiveness (or otherwise) of government policies. Most industrialized countries have productivity accounts, but measurement problems persist and may even be more problematic in the future given an expansion in new goods and ser ....Tackling the Tough Problems in Productivity Measurement: Infrastructure, Services and R&D. Productivity is seen as a main driver of economic growth and welfare improvements. Productivity indexes are used in a variety of policy contexts, in particular in determining the effectiveness (or otherwise) of government policies. Most industrialized countries have productivity accounts, but measurement problems persist and may even be more problematic in the future given an expansion in new goods and services. Improved productivity measurement and an improved understanding of its sources can inform aggregate and regional policy. The project includes collaboration with the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Productivity Commission, with the participation of the Reserve Bank of Australia.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
Natural resources and ecosystem services in productivity measurement. This project aims to understand sources of productivity growth through addressing theoretical and practical problems in the economics of natural resources and ecosystem services. It will study the valuation of non-renewable resources and ecosystem services, acknowledging their contributions to economic activity and the effect on national income from their depletion and degradation. It will develop approaches to incorporating n ....Natural resources and ecosystem services in productivity measurement. This project aims to understand sources of productivity growth through addressing theoretical and practical problems in the economics of natural resources and ecosystem services. It will study the valuation of non-renewable resources and ecosystem services, acknowledging their contributions to economic activity and the effect on national income from their depletion and degradation. It will develop approaches to incorporating natural resource depletion and degradation into productivity analysis with the aim of better informing environmental, innovation and industry policy.Read moreRead less
Determining the factors influencing the success of private and community-owned Indigenous businesses across remote, regional and urban Australia. The main benefit of this project is a thorough understanding of the challenges facing Indigenous enterprises in a range of geographical, economic and social settings. The research will identify and determine the importance of a broad range of factors which influence the success of Indigenous enterprises.
Applying behavioural insights to the tax system in Australia. Applying behavioural insights to the tax system in Australia. This project aims to improve compliance and payment in the Australian tax system. It aims to tackle debts of individuals and businesses, the most challenging aspect of tax systems, by applying behavioural insights to design innovative payment interventions and conducting rigorous randomised controlled trials to evaluate their effects. An empirical analysis will account for ....Applying behavioural insights to the tax system in Australia. Applying behavioural insights to the tax system in Australia. This project aims to improve compliance and payment in the Australian tax system. It aims to tackle debts of individuals and businesses, the most challenging aspect of tax systems, by applying behavioural insights to design innovative payment interventions and conducting rigorous randomised controlled trials to evaluate their effects. An empirical analysis will account for heterogeneity in treatment responses, and the findings will be combined with a study of regulatory and administrative processes to support the ultimate goal of a legitimate, fair, cost-effective and responsive tax system.Read moreRead less
Intergenerational Disadvantage: Causes, Pathways, and Consequences. This Project aims to prevent poor Australian children from becoming poor adults by developing scientific evidence and creative policy approaches to overcome entrenched disadvantage. The Project will generate new knowledge on how social assistance dependence is linked across generations using new Australian data. Expected outcomes are the identification of i) the causal link between parents’ and children’s social assistance depen ....Intergenerational Disadvantage: Causes, Pathways, and Consequences. This Project aims to prevent poor Australian children from becoming poor adults by developing scientific evidence and creative policy approaches to overcome entrenched disadvantage. The Project will generate new knowledge on how social assistance dependence is linked across generations using new Australian data. Expected outcomes are the identification of i) the causal link between parents’ and children’s social assistance dependence; ii) the pathways through which youths overcome disadvantage; and iii) the role of family structure in transmitting disadvantage. Transforming the evidence base, the findings will have significant benefits in redesigning the Australian social safety net, promoting social and economic mobility.Read moreRead less
The impact of work-from-home environments on comfort and productivity. This project aims to quantify the effect of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in work-from-home (WFH) settings on worker comfort, productivity and household energy use, by employing a longitudinal field monitoring approach. This project expects to generate new knowledge that will inform current indoor environment standards and regulations to make them more relevant to our “new WFH normal”. Quantifying the impact of decentral ....The impact of work-from-home environments on comfort and productivity. This project aims to quantify the effect of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in work-from-home (WFH) settings on worker comfort, productivity and household energy use, by employing a longitudinal field monitoring approach. This project expects to generate new knowledge that will inform current indoor environment standards and regulations to make them more relevant to our “new WFH normal”. Quantifying the impact of decentralised workforces on shifting energy usage between sectors can also help in the formulation of relevant energy efficiency policies and building codes. The project will provide significant benefits such as enhancing the quality of work-life of workers and enabling better management of residential energy use.Read moreRead less
The practice of accountability in Australian Indigenous corporations. As Australian Indigenous corporations are fundamental to economic participation and social provision in the nation’s Indigenous communities this project will contribute to increasing and sustaining social and economic participation in these communities. While there is a new Act governing Australian Indigenous corporations there has been little work to evaluate the implementation and implications of the Act. Therefore this pro ....The practice of accountability in Australian Indigenous corporations. As Australian Indigenous corporations are fundamental to economic participation and social provision in the nation’s Indigenous communities this project will contribute to increasing and sustaining social and economic participation in these communities. While there is a new Act governing Australian Indigenous corporations there has been little work to evaluate the implementation and implications of the Act. Therefore this project is timely and important. The fundamental question is how these organisations can both serve the needs of their local communities and meet broader accountability obligations expected of them. This issue is fundamental to the delivery of state funded services and benefits to Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.Read moreRead less
Promoting active travel and public transport for a post-pandemic world. In many major cities, COVID-19 stimulated the provision of open streets, pop up bike lanes and widened pedestrian access, prompting unprecedented increases cycling and walking. While this type of infrastructure has always been supported by urban planners and designers, the pandemic has served as a vital inflection point, enabling cities to pursue long-term sustainable transport initiatives, including investment in Active Tra ....Promoting active travel and public transport for a post-pandemic world. In many major cities, COVID-19 stimulated the provision of open streets, pop up bike lanes and widened pedestrian access, prompting unprecedented increases cycling and walking. While this type of infrastructure has always been supported by urban planners and designers, the pandemic has served as a vital inflection point, enabling cities to pursue long-term sustainable transport initiatives, including investment in Active Travel (AT). There is an opportunity to promote AT as part of an integrated transport strategy, and to develop tools for the robust evaluation of AT impacts to inform future investment strategies. This proposal will provide our partner organisation Transport for New South Wales (with the knowledge required to achieve this.
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