THE AGGREGATE DEMAND FOR LABOUR IN AUSTRALIA: A META-ANALYSIS*

In this paper, meta-analysis techniques are applied to 34 studies of the aggregate demand for Australian labour. Inverse associations between the real wage and employment and demand and unemployment are established, and positive associations between demand and employment and the real wage and unemployment are established. The associations are stronger with respect to the real wage. The results suggest that at least two-thirds of the variation in estimates across studies is artifactual and is due to specification differences. It is argued in this paper that the available studies are of limited value to policy formulation. No single empirical study can provide definitive measures of a particular parameter. This guarantees that substantial numbers of empirical studies of the more important parameters describing labor demand will have been produced. (Hamermesh, 1993, p. 61)     

A NOTE ON CONSUMER DEMAND CURVES AND PRICE ELASTICITY OF DEMAND

"The elasticity of demand is great for high prices, and great, or at least considerable, for medium prices, and gradually fades away if the fall goes so far that satiety level is reached."—Principles of Economics, 8th ed., p. 87     

LABELLING CHARACTERISTICS AND DEMAND FOR RETAIL GROCERY PRODUCTS IN AUSTRALIA*

This paper examines whether labelling characteristics affect short‐run demand for manufactured foods in Australia. We estimate the effect of common labelling characteristics on demand using data from 92 brands in 12 product categories from major supermarket stores across Australia over the period 2002 to 2005. We find that certain characteristics – such as whether the product is made from recycled materials, certified as being Australian‐made, is a private label product, is health‐conscious or supports a charity – have a positive effect on demand. However, being an environmentally‐friendly good had a negative impact on demand as did products which offer the chance to win a prize and uncertified Australian‐made goods.     

MODELLING DEMAND FOR BROAD MONEY IN AUSTRALIA*

The existence of a valid long‐run money demand function is still important for the conduct of monetary policy. It is argued that previous work on the demand for money in Australia has not been very satisfactory in a number of ways. This paper examines the long‐ and short‐run determinants of the demand for broad money employing the Johansen cointegration technique. Using quarterly data for the period 1976:3–2002:2, this paper finds, inter alia, that the demand for broad money is cointegrated with real income, the rate of return on 10‐year Treasury bonds, the cash rate and inflation. It appears that a disequilibrium in the demand for money can affect the efficacy of interest rate policy in the long run via its impact on future output growth and output gap.     

CAN AGGREGATION ACROSS GOODS BE ACHIEVED BY NEGLECTING THE PROBLEM? PROPERTY INHERITANCE AND AGGREGATION BIAS*

This article studies the problem of composite commodity in two different frameworks. In one case, aggregation across goods is analyzed for elementary goods that satisfy an optimality condition. The unrestricted case is also examined. The notion of an approximate aggregate representation is formalized and shown to be always possible. Can thereby aggregation issues simply be neglected in economic contributions? I show that the standard economic properties of initial functions are not necessarily inherited by the approximate aggregate. The severity of this problem and the size of the aggregation bias across inputs are investigated empirically.     

GROWTH AND FAILURE OF MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS IN AUSTRALIA*

This study examines the determinants of failure and employment growth for manufacturing establishments in Australia between 1984 and 1985. For the sample of all establishments which operated in 1984, initial size of establishment is found to be inversely related to the probability of establishment failure and positively related to the establishment-level rate of employment growth. However, excluding establishments which ceased operation between 1984 and 1985, no relation exists between size of establishment and employment growth. These findings indicate the importance of sample selection for studies of the determinants of establishment-level employment growth. Industry sector does not appear to have a strong effect on failure or on employment growth of establishments.     

DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH IN AUSTRALIA*

This paper discusses the distribution of wealth derived from the Australian Survey of Consumer Finances and Expenditures, 1966-68, carried out jointly by Macquarie University and the University of Queensland. It analyzes the composition of net worth, assets, and liabilities by socio-demographic characteristics and over time.     

A NOTE ON THE AGGREGATION BIAS IN CURRENT PROCEDURES FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF TRADE BARRIERS

For purposes ranging from practical commercial policy matters to the testing of theoretical trade models, economists have utilized aggregate data relating to tariffs and non-tariff barriers (NTBs) across countries. However, the statistics employed in these analyses are generally derived using aggregation procedures which are based on weights relating to trade that occurs under restrictions. While it is recognized that this approach incorporates a bias in the resulting averages, due to the fact that the products facing the highest tariffs or NTBs enter the calculation with relatively low (actual) trade weights, little information is available for quantifying the magnitude of this bias. This study provides such empirical evidence and also proposes indices that overcome some shortcomings of the traditional measures.