We use a semi-parametric method to decompose the difference in male and female wage densities into two parts–one explained by characteristics and one which is attributable to differences in returns to characteristics. We learn substantially more about the gender wage gap in France through this...

The goal of this paper is to evaluate a “couples-based” policy intervention designed to reduce the number of Australian families without work. In 2000 and 2001, the Australian Government piloted a new counseling initiative targeted towards couple-headed families with dependent children in...

This paper develops univariate and multivariate forecasting models for realized volatility in Australian stocks. We consider multivariate models with common features or common factors, and we suggest estimation procedures for approximate factor models that are robust to jumps when the...

No distinction is made between the marginal social cost of public funds (MCF) and the shadow value of government revenue in the public finance literature. Their separate roles are demonstrated in this paper, where the MCF is used as a scaling coefficient to account for changes in tax...

We use unique data in which both partners report about household finances to demonstrate that there is often disagreement about whether the household has experienced financial difficulty in the past year. Four alternative explanations for this disagreement are tested using the data. The results...

Like many industrialised economies in the pre-depression era, Australia elected to maintain a highly protectionist trade policy regime and hence to retard its integration with the global economy. The rationale for Australia’s protectionism was, as elsewhere, the enhancement of worker welfare....

When market distortions already exist, producers may attempt to surpress or encourage the establishment of new distortions in hitherto undistorted markets, and may have a strong incentive to appeal to the language of second best to further their private interests. In these situations, the total...

demographic transition have led to accelerated ageing of populations in developed countries and in several advanced developing countries. This paper introduces a global demographic model from which emerge the implications of these changes for population sizes, age distributions and gender...

Contests are games in which the players compete for a valuable prize by exerting effort or using resources so as to increase their probability of winning. This paper examines two player multi-item contests, a class of games in which players are faced with a decision about how much of a given...

In a dynamic framework in which generations are linked by educational background, we identify an intergenerational externality that is larger for disadvantaged groups. This provides an argument for affirmative action in higher education based on efficiency alone.