Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research - Research Publications
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ItemThe validity of the SF-36 in an Australian National Household Survey: demonstrating the applicability of the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey to examination of health inequalities(BMC, 2004-10-07)BACKGROUND: The SF-36 is one of the most widely used self-completion measures of health status. The inclusion of the SF-36 in the first Australian national household panel survey, the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, provides an opportunity to investigate health inequalities. In this analysis we establish the psychometric properties and criterion validity of the SF-36 HILDA Survey data and examine scale profiles across a range of measures of socio-economic circumstance. METHODS: Data from 13,055 respondents who completed the first wave of the HILDA Survey were analysed to determine the psychometric properties of the SF-36 and the relationship of the SF-36 scales to other measures of health, disability, social functioning and demographic characteristics. RESULTS: Results of principle components analysis were similar to previous Australian and international reports. Survey scales demonstrated convergent and divergent validity, and different markers of social status demonstrated unique patterns of outcomes across the scales. CONCLUSION: Results demonstrated the validity of the SF-36 data collected during the first wave of the HILDA Survey and support its use in research examining health inequalities and population health characteristics in Australia.
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ItemFamily Structure, Usual and Preferred Working Hours, and Egalitarianism in Australia( 2004-02)Data from a representative survey of adult Australians are analysed for usual and preferred working time across family types. We discover a time divide regardless of gender and family type: many short hours individuals desire longer hours of employment, while many long hours individuals prefer shorter hours. The latter group is larger such that the average employee desires fewer hours across family types, with the exception of lone mothers. For dual-earner couples with children, men average approximately 20 hours more per week than women, a difference that would only decline to 18 hours per week if preferred hours were realized. However, approximately one-fifth of these couples exhibited egalitarian or nearly equal working hours. Egalitarian couples averaged a combined 84 hours per week of employment, tended to share the care of children, were more likely to be non-Australian born, and included marked numbers of women holding degrees and in professional occupations.
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ItemMoves to a basic income-flat tax system in Australia: implications for the distribution of income and supply of labour(Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, 2004)
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ItemDo Longer Working Hours Lead to More Workplace Injuries? Evidence from Australian Industry-Level Panel Data( 2004-05)Using Australian industry-level data on weekly hours of work and frequency of new workers' compensation claims for work-related accidents over the 1990s, the relationship between working time and work-related injuries is examined. Results using panel data techniques suggest there is no relationship between working time of full-time workers and workplace safety performance. This finding is in contrast to cross-sectional evidence presented by previous researchers showing significant effects of working time on safety performance. Evidence is found in this study, however, that increased working time of part-time employed persons is associated with a greater rate of workplace injuries.
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ItemDoes 'Work for the Dole' Work?( 2004-07)This study examines the effect of a community-based work experience program - Work for the Dole (WfD) - on transitions out of unemployment in Australia. To evaluate the WfD program a quasi-experimental exact matching approach is applied. Justification for the matching approach is a 'natural experiment' - limits on WfD project funding - that it is argued constituted a source of random assignment to the program. Participation in the WfD program is found to be associated with a large and significant adverse effect on the likelihood of exiting unemployment payments. The main potential explanation is existence of a 'lock-in' effect whereby program participants reduce job search activity.
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ItemThe Extent and Consequences of Underemployment in Australia( 2004-08)Underemployment is generally conceived as excess labour supply associated with employed persons; that is, as a situation where employed persons would like to work more hours at prevailing wage rates. Using information collected by the 2001 Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, this study seeks to investigate the extent of underemployment and its effects on outcomes such as income, welfare dependence and subjective well-being. It is found that over one in six employed persons is underemployed, corresponding to a failure to utilise 5 per cent of hours supplied by employed persons. Underemployment is more frequently associated with part-time employment for females, but for males is more frequently associated with full-time employment. Models estimated of the effects of underemployment on outcomes imply that, while unemployment clearly has greater adverse consequences, underemployment is nonetheless associated with significant detrimental effects on the outcomes examined. Negative effects are found for both part-time employed and full-time employed workers who would prefer to work more hours, but effects are greater for underemployed part-time workers, and are particularly large for part-time workers who would like to work full-time. Indeed, for part-time workers seeking full-time employment, effects attributable to underemployment are, for some outcomes, not far short of those attributable to unemployment.
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ItemThe determinants of research and development and intellectual property usage among Australian companies, 1989 to 2002(Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, 2004)
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ItemEffects of changes in family composition and employment patterns on the distribution of income in Australia: 1981-1982 to 1997-1998(WILEY, 2004-06)We examine income distributions over the last two decades, presenting both non‐parametric kernel density estimates and summary measures. Standard errors of summary measures are also reported to facilitate statistical inference. We find a significant increase in private income inequality, but only a modest increase in disposable income inequality, implying an increase in the inequality‐reducing effects of income taxes and transfers. Using a semi‐parametric procedure developed by DiNardo et al. (1996), we then examine the effects of changes in family characteristics on the distribution of private income, finding that half the increase in inequality is explained by changes in the distribution of employment.
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ItemWage and employment rates in New Zealand from 1991 to 2001(Taylor & Francis, 2004-01-01)
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