Optimal Schooling Investments and Earnings: An Analysis Using Australian Twins Data

The potential impact that unobserved ability can have on both schooling and earnings outcomes has been modelled by Ashenfelter and Rouse (1998). This paper applies their model to the Australian Twins Sample. The best estimate of the return to schooling for genetically identical (or MZ) twins is 8.9 per cent. Measurement errors in the schooling data are shown to constitute a more serious problem than the omission of the family effects that impact on ability. Individuals from higher ability families receive a lower marginal benefit from their investment in human capital.     

Fiscal Illusion at the Local Level: An Empirical Test Using Australian Municipal Data

This paper seeks to extend the literature on the empirical analysis of fiscal illusion in two ways. First, it provides a simultaneous test of four specific hypotheses subsumed under fiscal illusion, namely the revenue-complexity, renter illusion, debt illusion and flypaper models. and second, it adds evidence drawn from the Australian institutional milieu to existing empirical work which has an overwhelming North American focus. Using 1991 data from 46 local government authorities in Tasmania, the results suggest significant support for revenue-complexity, debt illusion, and the degree of indirectness of the revenue system.     

A Characterization of Australian Unemployment Compensation: An Analysis of Labour Market Adjustment*

This paper uses a labour contracting framework to analyze the microeconomics of the Australian unemployment compensation system. We find that employers adjust labour inputs by using layoffs rather than shortened workweeks or work-sharing during economic recessions. Increases in government benefits tend to reinforce this result Countervailing influences are shown to be the severity of the income test applying to benefits eligibility and the Family Allowance Supplement in its role as supplementing the income of low-income families.     

Adjustment of Profits: Evidence from Australian Manufacturing

Studies of industry profitability generally deal with long-run equilibrium models, making no allowance for slow adjustment to equilibrium. In this study, a cross-sectional analysis is carried out against a sample of Australian manufacturing industries at the Australian Standard Industrial Classification (ASIC) four-digit level between 1977–78 and 1984–85. Firstly, a profit model is estimated in equilibrium form as well as allowing for both uniform and variable adjustment rates across industries. The variable adjustment model is superior, with either model implying at least half adjustment to equilibrium within the seven-year sample period. Secondly, results are examined for the impact of firm homogeneity of firms within industries. Homogeneity of firms is found to have substantial impact,increasing both the estimated profits-concentration relationship and the estimated speed of adjustment.     

居民消费价格指数季节调整实证研究

文章首先对居民消费价格指数季节调整的原因、季节调整方法的发展过程和应用进行了说明,着重介绍了国际上最新流行的X-12-ARIMA和TRAMO/SEATS季节调整方法,然后用X-12-ARIMA方法对上海市居民消费价格指数序列进行季节调整、分析和预测,并结合使用TRAMO/SEATS方法解决中国与国外明显不同的春节假日因素的调整问题,最后提出我国季节调整面临的问题.     

Labour Supply and the Risk of Divorce: An Analysis of Australian Data

This article examines the possible consequences of rising divorce risks for the pattern of married women's labour supply in the Australian labour market. An extension of Becker's (1965) model of time allocation is used to inform an empirical analysis of this issue based on the 1997 Negotiating the Life Course Survey data. The empirical analysis in the article features a model that controls for the possibility of an endogenous relationship between women's involvement in paid work and the risk of divorce. Results show a significant positive relationship between the risk of divorce and the probability that a woman will be involved in full‐time work.     

Potential Diversification Benefits In The Presence Of Unknown Structural Breaks: An Australian Case Study

It is reasonable to suggest that a portfolio manager with direct property diversified by sector or region is more interested in strategic than in tactical asset allocation. However, even with strategic allocations of property the portfolio manager needs a regular monitoring of the inter-relationships amongst assets comprising the portfolio to ensure that unexpected events do not 'permanently' alter such relationships. One procedure for ascertaining whether assets are inter-related over the long run (and therefore offer few diversification benefits) is through cointegration analysis. A difficulty with conventional cointegration analysis, however, is that it is unable to accommodate changes in equilibrium relationships that might occur due to unexpected structural changes. In this paper we apply the Gregory and Hansen cointegration procedure to consider how unexpected structural changes might affect the potential long run diversification benefits of assets held in an Australian property portfolio.     

Government Versus Non‐Government Schools: A Nation‐Wide Assessment Using Australian Naplan Data

There are considerable differences in school outcomes on the NAPLAN tests in Australia between Government and non‐Government schools. This paper documents these for four years of study (Years 3, 5, 7 and 9), and for the five NAPLAN domains (Grammar and Punctuation, Numeracy, Reading, Spelling and Writing). It then examines the extent to which the differences are due to characteristics of the schools, such as the socioeconomic status of the school and the gender mix of the total enrolment at the school. It is shown that a greater share of the difference in marks between Government and non‐Government schools in Year 9 than in Year 3 is due to the characteristics of the schools. This implies that, consistent with recent press coverage, the better outcomes of the non‐Government schools are due, in part at least, to a selection process that favours academically advantaged students.     

金融发展影响产业结构优化的实证研究

产业结构优化是经济增长的重要推动力。影响产业结构优化的因素众多,金融发展就是一项重要因素。本文利用中国31个省市面板数据模型,实证研究了金融发展对产业结构优化的影响。结论认为,在产业结构优化进程中,金融发展总量的增长有明显的推动效果,金融效率的提高没有表现出积极的促进作用。同时,产业结构的优化并不一定带来金融发展总量的增长。     

Generating Participation and Democracy: An Illustration from Electricity Reform in Mexico

Privatisation is a fundamental issue for both ‘developed’ and ‘less developed’ countries. Many see it as a requirement for access to a globalised economy, and furthermore imply that countries have no room for manoeuvre when it comes to ensuring that privatisation takes place. However, we would argue that a mere requirement leaves options for how privatisation is to be undertaken. We consider the possibility of an economy developing according to the aims of its people, and correspondingly of a privatisation model that contributes to the nurturing of democratic economies. How this might be achieved in practice is addressed by using the specific case of electricity in Mexico as an illustration. We explore an ownership and control structure that balances different interests. It is envisaged that pension funds could be important, linking investment back to individuals and groups with interests wider than those usually associated with international investors. While this could move towards the guiding principle of democratic control, it would fall short of being fully inclusive. Therefore a more direct incorporation of citizens, through a formal right to participate in strategic decision‐making, is also contemplated. Various governance mechanisms are identified that, with further refinement and positioning in the context of particular cases, might allow effective participation to be realised.     

Uncertainty and Investment: Evidence from Australian Firm Panel Data

This paper investigates the key drivers of fixed firm investment of listed non‐financial companies in Australia over the period from 1987 to 2009. A Tobin's q model of investment is augmented to account for the effect of economic uncertainty on the investment decision. The effects of Tobin's q, sales and cash flows on firm investment rate are also analysed and discussed. Consistent with existing literature, this research finds clear evidence of negative effects of both macroeconomic and firm idiosyncratic uncertainty on Australian firm investment. However, evidence also shows that firm‐specific uncertainty is more important in explaining firm investment than macroeconomic uncertainty.     

The Speed and Stability of Price Adjustment in Australian Manufacturing*

A model of industry speed of price adjustment is derived from firm pricing behaviour. The model is applied to quarterly two‐digit Australian manufacturing data for the period 1985 (Q3) to 2002 (Q3). The results suggest that the industry speed of price adjustment is positively related to the average size of large firms within the industry and is negatively related to industry concentration. We also find that import share has a role in attenuating the effects of industry concentration and that growth in a moving average of real gross domestic product reduces the speed of price adjustment. Calculated industry speeds of price adjustment are both stable across the period of examination and small, suggesting that manufacturing prices are sticky.