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Heterogeneous Effects Of High School Peers On Educational Outcomes, Silvia Mendolia, Alfredo R. Paloyo, Ian Walker
Heterogeneous Effects Of High School Peers On Educational Outcomes, Silvia Mendolia, Alfredo R. Paloyo, Ian Walker
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
We investigate peer ability effects on high powered test scores at ages 16 and 18, and on the probability of university attendance. To account for endogeneity in peer ability, we instrument average peer ability with the average ability of the primary school peers of one’s high school peers. Our results show that peers have a moder-ately positive effect on test scores, and that being in a school with a large proportion of low-quality peers can have a significantly detrimental effect on achievements. Fur-thermore, peer ability seems to have a stronger effect on students at the bottom of the grade distribution, …
Heterogeneous Treatment Effects? An Examination Of Australian Non-Government Primary Schools, Joan Rodgers, Frank Neri, Ian Moran
Heterogeneous Treatment Effects? An Examination Of Australian Non-Government Primary Schools, Joan Rodgers, Frank Neri, Ian Moran
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
On average, students in Australian non-government schools consistently outperform their counterparts in government schools on standardized tests of literacy and numeracy. However, when differences across school sectors in student characteristics are taken into account there is no evidence that this performance differential is attributable to the nature of the schools. Nevertheless, non-government schools may have heterogeneous effects, that is, they may benefit particular groups of students. This study investigates the extent of non-government school advantage for specific primary school student groups. Test scores from the National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy for a nationally representative sample of students from the …
The Contribution Of Australian Academia To The World’S Best Economics Research: 2001-2010, Joan Rodgers, Frank Neri
The Contribution Of Australian Academia To The World’S Best Economics Research: 2001-2010, Joan Rodgers, Frank Neri
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
This paper investigates the output of top-tier economics research by Australian academic economists from 2001 to 2010. By constructing and analysing a unique database of all substantive publications in the world’s top 45 economics journals, we compare Australia’s output with those of over 100 other countries, determine whether Australia’s output has increased since 2001, and rank Australian universities based on their output. Our analysis suggest that Australia’s output of top-tier economics research, both in absolute and relative terms, increased over the study period and that on a per capita basis, appears to be converging to the levels of the most …
Breaking The Link Between Legal Access To Alcohol And Motor Vehicle Accidents: Evidence From New South Wales, Jason Lindo, Peter Siminski, Oleg Yerokhin
Breaking The Link Between Legal Access To Alcohol And Motor Vehicle Accidents: Evidence From New South Wales, Jason Lindo, Peter Siminski, Oleg Yerokhin
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
A large literature has documented signficant public health benefits associated with the minimum legal drinking age in the United States, particularly because of the resulting effects on motor vehicle accidents. These benefits form the primary basis for continued efforts to restrict youth access to alcohol. It is important to keep in mind, though, that policymakers have a wide variety of alcohol-control options available to them, and understanding how these policies may complement or substitute for one another can improve policy making moving forward. Towards this end, we propose that investigating the causal effects of the minimum legal drinking age in …
Maternal Working Hours And The Well-Being Of Adolescent Children, Silvia Mendolia
Maternal Working Hours And The Well-Being Of Adolescent Children, Silvia Mendolia
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
This study investigates how maternal working hours are related to various outcomes in children aged 11–15 using a sample of mothers and adolescents in the British Household Panel Survey. Research that examines the effects of maternal employment on children has been motivated by the rapid increase of female participation rates in the labour market and increased shares of children living in female-headed or single-mother households. The existing literature on this issue is very limited, mostly based on American data, and provides conflicting results. Fixed effects have been used in the present analysis to control for characteristics of children and families …
A Knowledge Economy Approach In Empirical Growth Models For The Nordic Countries, Arusha Cooray, Marcella Lucchetta, Antonio Paradiso
A Knowledge Economy Approach In Empirical Growth Models For The Nordic Countries, Arusha Cooray, Marcella Lucchetta, Antonio Paradiso
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
We estimate, employing a “knowledge economy” approach, the steady state growth rate for the Nordic countries. An endogenous growth framework is developed, in which total factor productivity is a function of human capital (measured by average years of education), trade openness, research and development, and investment ratio. We identify the key variables having a significant level and growth effects within this framework. We find that education plays an important role on the long-run growth rates of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark; trade openness, instead, has growth effects in Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The investment ratio is able to explain patterns of …
The Premium For Part-Time Work In Australia, Iris Day, Joan Rodgers
The Premium For Part-Time Work In Australia, Iris Day, Joan Rodgers
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
Booth and Wood (2008), using longitudinal data from 2001 through 2004, found a large part-time wage premium for both men and women in Australia. Longitudinal studies of the full-time/part-time wage differential in other countries find small penalties or premiums, or no significant wage differentials. The objective of this paper is to explain the nature of the premium in Australia. We find the premium is pervasive across age groups, occupations and industries. It is not explained by the way part-time work is defined, or by the pay loading received in Australia by employees on casual contracts. We find substantial hourly wage …
Family Impacts On Cognitive Development Of Young Children: Evidence From Australia, Jessica Meredith, Frank Neri, Joan Rodgers
Family Impacts On Cognitive Development Of Young Children: Evidence From Australia, Jessica Meredith, Frank Neri, Joan Rodgers
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
This paper investigates the manner and extent to which family structure impacts upon the cognitive development of young Australian children. Our methodology draws on the standard household production model of Becker but also includes control variables emphasised by parental investment and good-parent theories of child development. We use data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) and from the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) in cross sectional, panel, instrumental variables and fixed-effects analyses. Our results suggest that the large negative effects initially associated with single parent families disappear when child characteristics and parental preferences for education …
Human Capital Externalities, Departmental Co-Authorship And Research Productivity, Frank Neri, Joan Rodgers
Human Capital Externalities, Departmental Co-Authorship And Research Productivity, Frank Neri, Joan Rodgers
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
Lucas (1988) hypothesised that human capital externalities explain persistent productivity growth and become manifest via interactions between workplace colleagues. Consistent with the first part of this hypothesis, Fox and Milbourne (2006) concluded that an increase in the average level of human capital in Australian economics departments raised the research productivity of departmental members. This paper tests the robustness of this finding by using a direct, rather than a proxy, measure of human capital and confirms the existence of human capital externalities within Australian economics departments. But we go further by investigating the second part of Lucas’ hypothesis. Whilst there are …
The Effect Of Female And Male Health On Economic Growth: Cross-Country Evidence Within A Production Function Framework, Gazi Hassan, Arusha Cooray
The Effect Of Female And Male Health On Economic Growth: Cross-Country Evidence Within A Production Function Framework, Gazi Hassan, Arusha Cooray
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
Adopting a production function based approach we model the role of health as a regular factor of production on economic growth. Additionally we disaggregate the measures of human capital by including male and female life expectancy and school enrolments. Allowing for the dynamics of TFP to be embedded in the production function we estimate it in growth form using various estimators appropriate for our data. Our main finding is that male life expectancy has a positive effect on the growth of income while female life expectancy has a negative effect, controlling for unobserved time and country effects in a panel …
I Was Only Nineteen, 45 Years Ago: What Can We Learn From Australia’S Conscription Lotteries?, Peter Siminski, Simon Ville
I Was Only Nineteen, 45 Years Ago: What Can We Learn From Australia’S Conscription Lotteries?, Peter Siminski, Simon Ville
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
The Australian conscription lotteries of 1965-1972 are a unique and underutilised resource for studying the effects of army service and veterans’ programs. Drawing on many data sources and 25 years of related US literature, we present a comprehensive analysis of this natural experiment, examining indicators of health, personal economic outcomes, family outcomes and educational attainment. We discuss the numerous potential mechanisms involved and the limitations of available data.
Are Low Skill Public Sector Workers Really Overpaid? A Quasi-Differenced Panel Data Analysis, Peter Siminski
Are Low Skill Public Sector Workers Really Overpaid? A Quasi-Differenced Panel Data Analysis, Peter Siminski
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
Public-private sectoral wage differentials have been studied extensively using quantile regression techniques. These typically find large public sector premiums at the bottom of the wage distribution. This may imply that low skill workers are ‘overpaid’, prompting concerns over efficiency. We note several other potential explanations for this result and explicitly test whether the premium varies with skill, using Australian data. We use a quasi-differenced GMM panel data model which has not been previously applied to this topic, internationally. Unlike other available methods, this technique identifies sectoral differences in returns to unobserved skill. It also facilitates a decomposition of the wage …
The Effect Of Motherhood On Wages And Wage Growth: Evidence For Australia, Tanya Livermore, Joan Rodgers, Peter Siminski
The Effect Of Motherhood On Wages And Wage Growth: Evidence For Australia, Tanya Livermore, Joan Rodgers, Peter Siminski
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
Labour market theory provides several reasons why mothers are likely to earn lower hourly wages than non-mothers. However, the size of any motherhood penalty is an empirical matter and the evidence for Australia is limited. This paper examines the effect of motherhood on Australian women’s wages and wage growth using a series of panel-data models which control for other relevant factors, both observed and unobserved. Using data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, an unexplained motherhood wage penalty of around four per cent for one child, and eight per cent for two or more children, …
What Would The Average Public Sector Employee Be Paid In The Private Sector?, Peter M. Siminski
What Would The Average Public Sector Employee Be Paid In The Private Sector?, Peter M. Siminski
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
This paper estimates the average Australian public sector wage premium. It includes a detailed critical review of the methods available to address this issue. The chosen approach is a quasi‐differenced panel data model, estimated by the Generalised Method of Moments, which has many advantages over other methods and has not been used before for this topic. I find a positive average public sector wage premium for both sexes. The best estimates are 6.7% for men and 10.5% for women. The estimate is statistically significant for men (p = 0.024) and for women (p < 0.001). No evidence is found to suggest that the public sector has an equalising effect on the wages of its workers.
The Australian Labour Market In 2007, Martin O'Brien, Abbas Valadkhani, K. Townsend
The Australian Labour Market In 2007, Martin O'Brien, Abbas Valadkhani, K. Townsend
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
Both global and domestic economic growth remained robust in 2007 resulting in historically low unemployment and high labour force participation in Australia. However, these favourable labour force statistics were overshadowed for much of the year by a number of other issues such as the continuing drought, high oil and petrol prices and associated inflation and interest rate pressures, a November federal election, and the first full year of the operation of the Work Choices legislation. This article will address each of these issues by presenting an analysis of the macroeconomy and labour market, and reviewing the labour market implications of …
Travail To No Avail? Working Poverty In Australia, D. Robson, Joan Rodgers
Travail To No Avail? Working Poverty In Australia, D. Robson, Joan Rodgers
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
During the last decade or so Australia has experienced high rates of economic growth and low levels of unemployment, conditions that are expected to impact favourably on working people at the lower end of the income distribution. But similar conditions in other countries have been accompanied by unexpectedly high rates of poverty among working people and their dependents. This paper investigates the extent and nature of working poverty in Australia. Its aim is to determine whether or not working poverty is the “new face of poverty in post-industrial Australia”.
Social Innovation: Buzz Word Or Enduring Term?, Simon Ville, Eduardo Pol
Social Innovation: Buzz Word Or Enduring Term?, Simon Ville, Eduardo Pol
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
One of the striking features of our society is the incessant urge for the creation, adoption and diffusion of innovations. Innovation takes many forms: technological, organizational, social, artistic, for example. The term ‘social innovation’ has come into common parlance in recent years. Some analysts consider social innovation no more than a buzz word or passing fad that is too vague to be usefully applied to academic scholarship. Some social scientists, however, see significant value in the concept of social innovation because it identifies a critical type of innovation. In this paper we suggest a working definition of social innovation that …
A Theoretical Analysis Of Rational Diet Of Healthy And Junk Foods, Amnon Levy
A Theoretical Analysis Of Rational Diet Of Healthy And Junk Foods, Amnon Levy
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
Junk-food consumption, health and productivity are analysed within an expectedlifetime- utility-maximising framework in which longevity and productivity rise with health, and health deteriorates with the consumption of junk food. As long as the junk food’s relative taste-price differential is positive, rational diets deviate from the physiologically optimal ones and generate lower than maximal levels of health and productivity. Taxing junk food can eliminate this discrepancy, but the outcome is not Pareto-superior. The value of health and the steady-state levels of rational junk-food consumption, health and productivity depend on the consumer’s tastes, prices, endurance, appetite and time preferences.
Sincere Social Capital With Material Status Sensitivity: Index And An Inverted U-Shaped Utility-Wealth Theory, Amnon Levy
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
This paper explores a possible effect of social capital on the relationship between utility and wealth. Material status sensitivity is considered in constructing the individual social-capital index. The incorporation of the index into the individual’s utility function leads to the proposition that if utility is directly increased by wealth but indirectly reduced by diminishing intensity and quality of sincere social interaction as the material-status-gape widens, there exists an inverted U-shaped relationship between utility and wealth. People located in the lower and upper tails of the wealth distribution are less content and hence more vulnerable to depression.
The Social Capital Experience Of International Students In Australia: The Wollongong Experience, Frank Neri, Simon Ville
The Social Capital Experience Of International Students In Australia: The Wollongong Experience, Frank Neri, Simon Ville
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
International university students arrive in their host country denuded of supporting social networks and confronting unfamiliar cultural and educational institutions, an experience that adversely impacts on their wellbeing and academic performance. Our study extends these general notions in the recent literature by investigating how, and to what extent, students renew their social networks. We adopt the social capital framework and conduct a participant survey in order to categorise and measure these different investments in clubs, employment, and friendships. Our results reveal a high degree of variability of social capital renewal between students and, among the more active, there remained a …
Depression And Substance Abuse: A Rationalization Of A Vicious Cycle, Amnon Levy, J. R. Faria
Depression And Substance Abuse: A Rationalization Of A Vicious Cycle, Amnon Levy, J. R. Faria
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
While a mind-altering-substance consumption alleviates current level of depression, it facilitates future depression. Our analysis incorporates this trade off and shows that the stationary state of a consistently overly ambitious sophisticated substance user is improved by impatience, and that this improvement is amplified by the ratio of the instantaneous depression-relief effect to the state-degradation effect of the substance. The analysis also shows that the existence of a supportive personal community leads to permanent cyclical substance consumption when the user is relatively patient.
The Youth Labour Market In Australia – Implications From Work Choices Legislation, Martin O'Brien
The Youth Labour Market In Australia – Implications From Work Choices Legislation, Martin O'Brien
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
The youth labour market, comprising the age subgroups 15-19 and 20-24 years, forms a unique segment of the Australian labour market. The issue of youth employment has received attention most recently in 2005 in relation to industrial relations reforms (Work Choices legislation). Because of their relative inexperience, youth are seen as particularly vulnerable and in a weak bargaining position in the case of increasing prevalence of individual bargaining. We start with a review of the labour market for youth in 2005 for males and females compared to prime aged (25-44 years). We then explore specific features of youth employment such …
Optimal Control Of Locusts In Subsistence Farming Areas, Amnon Levy
Optimal Control Of Locusts In Subsistence Farming Areas, Amnon Levy
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
Locust swarms hit subsistence-staple-crop-growing households at random and are not privately controllable. A regional aerial-spraying scheme that supports these households’ livelihood at the least cost is proposed. The properties of this scheme are analysed and two steady states are identified. The saddle one is socio-economically superior to the stable spiral. Simulations reveal that the respective stationary probability of a household’s crop being devoured by the swarm diminishes with the number of households, yield per household, staple crop’s replacement price and spraying efficacy, but rises with the spraying cost coefficient, locusts’ multiplication rate and public planner’s discount rate.
Do Students Benefit From Supplemental Education? Evidence From A First-Year Statistics Subject In Economics And Business, D. Lewis, Martin O'Brien, S. Rogan, B. Shorten
Do Students Benefit From Supplemental Education? Evidence From A First-Year Statistics Subject In Economics And Business, D. Lewis, Martin O'Brien, S. Rogan, B. Shorten
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
Peer assisted study sessions (PASS) are a type of supplemental instruction (SI) that provide students with out-of-class study review sessions with a group of peers. A student, who has successfully completed the subject and acts as a mentor, facilitates the voluntary sessions. Results of the PASS program at the University of Wollongong have been quite positive in that students, on average, who attend more PASS, achieve higher marks. However, a simple comparison does not control for self-selection bias. We control for self-selection in two ways. Firstly, we use Heckman’s two-stage correction technique to analyze the 2002 cohort. Secondly, students in …
Structural Change And The Older Male Worker In Australia, Martin O'Brien
Structural Change And The Older Male Worker In Australia, Martin O'Brien
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
Unfavourable changes in the industry composition of employment over the last two decades has been suggested as a reason for structural unemployment and declining labour force participation of older males in Australia. In this paper, the author explores this proposition by analysing employment data for older males over the 1984 to 1999 period. Standard shift-share analysis findings suggest that, although older males are over-represented in stagnant or declining industries and under-represented in growth sectors, the net aggregate effects of structural change for older males’ employment trends are minimal. However, alternative methodologies presented reveal a number of interesting insights into the …
Hidden Unemployment And Older Male Workers, Martin O'Brien
Hidden Unemployment And Older Male Workers, Martin O'Brien
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
A number of policy reforms have recently been announced by the Commonwealth government to encourage greater labour force participation by older people in the context of an ageing society. These policy reforms are generally supply side in orientation such as the removal of the Mature Age Allowance, or restrictions to the Disability Support Pension. In this paper it is argued that these pensions have historically been used to accommodate otherwise unemployed older male workers. A number of methods are used to quantify the level of hidden unemployment within the older male population over recent decades. Estimates of adjusted unemployment rates, …
Measuring Overweight: A Note, Amnon Levy
Measuring Overweight: A Note, Amnon Levy
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
The Body Mass Index (BMI) provides a biased assessment of individual weight condition when there are substantial frame and muscle size deviations from the average for a given height. A method for overcoming this problem is presented. It allows an unbiased assessment of the individual level and degree of overweight and of the prevalence and intensity of overweight within the population.
The Contribution Of Micro-Enterprises To Economic Recovery And Poverty Alleviation In East Asia, Charles Harvie
The Contribution Of Micro-Enterprises To Economic Recovery And Poverty Alleviation In East Asia, Charles Harvie
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
The economic and social crisis that afflicted East Asia from mid 1997 produced the biggest setback to poverty reduction in the region for several decades, as well as aggravating social vulnerabilities. There were many dimensions to this, including: falling incomes; rising absolute poverty and malnutrition; declining public services; threats to educational and health status; increased pressure on women and children; and increased crime and violence. The objective of this paper is to analyse the potential contribution of one subset of small and medium sized enterprises, micro-enterprises and the role of micro-finance more generally, to regional economic recovery and poverty alleviation.
A Theory Of Chronic Loss, Suffering And Alcoholism, Amnon Levy, J. R. Faria
A Theory Of Chronic Loss, Suffering And Alcoholism, Amnon Levy, J. R. Faria
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
This paper focuses on the consumption of alcohol to numb the suffering associated with failure. While drinking reduces the individual’s current level of suffering, it leads to future failures and potentially greater suffering. The basic model shows that the stationary status of an alcoholic is improved by the difference between his rate of time preference and the rate of return on his status and that this improvement is amplified by the ratio of the instantaneous suffering-relief effect to the status-eroding effect of alcohol. The extended model shows that society’s reaction to alcoholism may lead to permanent cyclical alcohol consumption.
A Discourse Of Classification: What Type Of "Thing" Is The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator And What Makes It "Work"?, Karin Garrety, Richard Badham, Peter Geyer, Michael Zanko, David Knights
A Discourse Of Classification: What Type Of "Thing" Is The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator And What Makes It "Work"?, Karin Garrety, Richard Badham, Peter Geyer, Michael Zanko, David Knights
Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers
Theorists who study discourses are interested in the social construction of reality through talk and text. The discursive construction of reality occurs at different (though interconnected) levels - from transient and situated instances and episodes oflanguage use (Potter & Wetherell 1987), through to the circulation of durable sets of interrelated knowledge claims, usually created and maintained by certified experts attached to institutions such as schools, universities, hospitals, prisons and courts (Foucault 1972, 1978). In this paper, we explore some aspects of these different dimensions of discourse, through a consideration of the creation, circulation and use ofthe Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), …