Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the determinants of taking out government‐funded student loans for university study in Australia. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses an ordered probit model to quantify the influence of the various factors which affect students' decisions...

This paper compares the Wellington (1993) and Smith and Welch (1989) decompositions of changes in labour market outcomes over time. The two examples considered are differences by gender in educational attainment and the gender wage differential. The results suggest that even though the procedure...

"This paper examines the determinants of Australian university graduates' starting salaries, with an emphasis on the institution attended and field of study. It is shown that there is little difference between the starting salaries of students who attended Group of Eight universities and those...

This paper examines the links between childhood conduct disorder problems and schooling and labour market outcomes net of genetic and environmental effects. The results show that individuals who experienced conduct disorder problems are more likely to leave school early, have poorer employment...

The aim of this paper is to quantify the determinants of happiness in university students, with information drawn from a survey conducted with students at the University of Western Australia in 2003. Ordered probit and ordinary least squares models are applied. Happiness could be measured and...

Students’ success during their first year at university is largely influenced by their university entrance score. Personal characteristics and secondary school characteristics also impact on success. This paper uses quantile regression to investigate how the effects of these factors vary along...

Many factors influence students’ academic performance at university, including their prior academic ability, level of wealth and demographic traits. The characteristics of the secondary school attended by students also play an important role in influencing their university outcomes. This paper...

This paper presents an analysis of the gender wage gap in the highly regulated Australian labour market. It compares wage outcomes in the wage and salary sector with those for the self-employed. Comparisons with the United States are provided. The large gender pay gap in self-employment suggests...