In this paper we examine unemployment rate dispersion across the (statistical) regions in theMelbourne metropolitan area. We find that the level of dispersion is positively correlated withthe unemployment rate in all the regions taken together and that the ‘elasticity’ of dispersionwith...

This paper presents an analysis of labour market dynamics, in particular of flows in the labour market and how they interact and affect the evolution of unemployment rates and participation rates, the two main indicators of labour market performance. Our analysis has two special features. First,...

This paper presents an analysis of labour market dynamics, in particular of flows in the labour market and how they interact and affect the evolution of unemployment rates and participation rates, the two main indicators of labour market performance. Our analysis has two special features. First,...

In this paper we examine the volatility of aggregate output and employment in Australia with the aid of a frequency filtering method (the Butterworth filter) that allows each time series to be decomposed into trend, cycle and noise components. This analysis is compared with more traditional...

Our paper revisits Okun's relationship between observed unemployment rates and output gaps. We include in the relationship the effect of labour market institutions as well as age and gender effects. Our empirical analysis is based on 20 OECD countries over the period 1985-2013. We find that the...

The paper seeks to 'explain' certain stylised facts in relation to flows into and out of Unemployment and especiaIly to identify the 'proximate' determinants of the amplitude and the frequency of fluctuations in the Unemployment Rate over the course of the business cycle. Since the evolution of...

In this paper we examine the volatility of aggregate output and employment in Australia with the aid of a frequency filtering method (the Butterworth filter) that allows each time series to be decomposed into trend, cycle and noise components. This analysis is compared with more traditional...

In this paper we deal with five related questions. What are the 'stylised facts'about the behaviour of flows into and out of unemployment and the Unemployment Rate in Australia, especially in recessions? Why does the number of persons flowing out of Unemployment (including the number flowing...

This paper examines the manner in which labour services are modelled in the aggregate production function, concentrating on the relationship between numbers employed and average hours worked. It argues that numbers employed and hours worked are not perfect substitutes and that conventional...

While it is correct to say that Carlyle first applied the exact phrase “dismal science” to political economy in his 1849 article on plantation labour in the West Indies, I argue that Carlyle came to the view that political economy was “dismal” well before that time. Indeed, his negative...