Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research - Research Publications

Permanent URI for this collection

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 10 of 11
  • Item
    Thumbnail Image
    Monthly spending dynamics of the elderly following a health shock: Evidence from Singapore
    Cheng, TC ; Li, J ; Vaithianathan, R (Wiley, 2019-01-01)
    We use novel longitudinal data from 19 monthly waves of the Singapore Life Panel to examine the short-term dynamics of the effects health shocks have on household health and nonhealth spending and income by the elderly. The health shocks we study are the occurrence of new major conditions such as cancer, heart problems, and minor conditions (e.g., diabetes and hypertension). Our empirical strategy is based on an event study approach that exploits unanticipated changes in health status through the diagnosis of new health conditions. We find that major shocks have large and persistent effects whereas minor shocks have small and mainly contemporaneous effects. We find that household income reduces following a major shock for males but not females. Major health shocks lead to a decrease in households' nonhealth expenditures that is particularly pronounced for cancer and stroke sufferers, driven largely by reductions in leisure spending. The financial impact of major shocks on medical saving account balances occurs to those without private health insurance, whereas the impact is on cash balances for privately insured individuals.
  • Item
    Thumbnail Image
    LONGITUDINAL EVIDENCE FOR A MIDLIFE NADIR IN HUMAN WELL-BEING: RESULTS FROM FOUR DATA SETS
    Cheng, TC ; Powdthavee, N ; Oswald, AJ (WILEY, 2017-02)
    There is a large amount of cross-sectional evidence for a midlife low in the life cycle of human happiness and well-being (a 'U shape'). Yet no genuinely longitudinal inquiry has uncovered evidence for a U-shaped pattern. Thus, some researchers believe the U is a statistical artefact. We re-examine this fundamental cross-disciplinary question. We suggest a new test. Drawing on four data sets, and only within-person changes in well-being, we document powerful support for a U shape in longitudinal data (without the need for formal regression equations). The article's methodological contribution is to use the first-derivative properties of a well-being equation.
  • Item
    Thumbnail Image
    Public, private or both? Analyzing factors influencing the labour supply of medical specialists
    Cheng, TC ; Kalb, G ; Scott, A (WILEY, 2018-05)
    Abstract This paper investigates the factors influencing the allocation of time between public and private sectors by medical specialists. A discrete choice structural labour supply model is estimated, where specialists choose from a set of job packages that are characterized by the number of working hours in the public and private sectors. The results show that medical specialists respond to changes in earnings by reallocating working hours to the sector with relatively increased earnings, while leaving total working hours unchanged. The magnitudes of the own‐sector and cross‐sector hours elasticities fall in the range of 0.16–0.51. The labour supply response varies by gender, doctor’s age and medical specialty. Family circumstances such as the presence of young dependent children reduce the hours worked by female specialists but not male specialists. Résumé Public, privé ou les deux? Analyse des facteurs influençant l’offre de travail des médecins spécialistes. Ce mémoire étudie les facteurs influençant l’allocation du temps des médecins spécialistes entre le secteur privé et le secteur public. Un modèle structurel de choix discret d’offre de travail est calibré ans lequel les spécialistes choisissent entre des arrangements caractérisés par le nombre d’heures de travail dans le secteur public et le secteur privé. Les résultats montrent que les spécialistes répondent aux changements dans la nature des gains en réaménageant leurs heures de travail vers le secteur qui offre des gains relativement plus élevés, tout en gardant leurs heures totales de travail inchangées. Les magnitudes des élasticités de l’offre des heures à l’intérieur d’un secteur et entre secteurs se situent dans un intervalle entre 0.16‐0.51. La réponse de l’offre de travail varie selon le genre, l’âge et la spécialité. Le cadre familial, comme la présence de jeunes enfants à charge, tend à réduire les heures travaillées par les femmes mais pas pour les hommes.
  • Item
    Thumbnail Image
    What factors affect physicians' labour supply: Comparing structural discrete choice and reduced-form approaches
    Kalb, G ; Kuehnle, D ; Scott, A ; Cheng, TC ; Jeon, S-H (WILEY, 2018-02)
    Little is known about the response of physicians to changes in compensation: Do increases in compensation increase or decrease labour supply? In this paper, we estimate wage elasticities for physicians. We apply both a structural discrete choice approach and a reduced-form approach to examine how these different approaches affect wage elasticities at the intensive margin. Using uniquely rich data collected from a large sample of general practitioners (GPs) and specialists in Australia, we estimate 3 alternative utility specifications (quadratic, translog, and box-cox utility functions) in the structural approach, as well as a reduced-form specification, separately for men and women. Australian data is particularly suited for this analysis due to a lack of regulation of physicians' fees leading to variation in earnings. All models predict small negative wage elasticities for male and female GPs and specialists passing several sensitivity checks. For this high-income and long-working-hours population, the translog and box-cox utility functions outperform the quadratic utility function. Simulating the effects of 5% and 10% wage increases at the intensive margin slightly reduces the full-time equivalent supply of male GPs, and to a lesser extent of male specialists and female GPs.
  • Item
    No Preview Available
    Longitudinal Evidence for a Midlife Nadir in Human Well‐being: Results from Four Data Sets
    Cheng, TC ; Powdthavee, N ; Oswald, AJ (Oxford University Press (OUP), 2017-02-01)
  • Item
    Thumbnail Image
    A Man's Blessing or a Woman's Curse? The Family Earnings Gap of Doctors
    Schurer, S ; Kuehnle, D ; Scott, A ; Cheng, TC (WILEY, 2016-07)
    We examine the size and determinants of the family earnings gap for Australian general practitioners (GPs). Female GPs with children earn more than $30,000 less than comparable female GPs without children, while male GPs with children earn more than $45,000 more than comparable male GPs without children. The main determinants of the family gap are differences in observable characteristics such as working hours, labor‐force attachment, and demographics, and additionally, for men, entrepreneurship and practice size. A fixed‐effects extension of the analysis confirms both the carer effect of children on female GPs and the breadwinner effect of children on male GPs.
  • Item
    Thumbnail Image
    Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life (MABEL)
    Yan, W ; Cheng, TC ; Scott, A ; Joyce, CM ; Humphreys, J ; Kalb, G ; Leahy, A (WILEY-BLACKWELL, 2011-03)
  • Item
    Thumbnail Image
    ATTRITION BIAS IN PANEL DATA: A SHEEP IN WOLF'S CLOTHING? A CASE STUDY BASED ON THE MABEL SURVEY
    Cheng, TC ; Trivedi, PK (WILEY, 2015-09)
    This paper investigates the nature and consequences of sample attrition in a unique longitudinal survey of medical doctors. We describe the patterns of non-response and examine if attrition affects the econometric analysis of medical labour market outcomes using the estimation of physician earnings equations as a case study. We compare the econometric gestimates obtained from a number of different modelling strategies, which are as follows: balanced versus unbalanced samples; an attrition model for panel data based on the classic sample selection model; and a recently developed copula-based selection model. Descriptive evidence shows that doctors who work longer hours, have lower years of experience, are overseas trained and have changed their work location are more likely to drop out. Our analysis suggests that the impact of attrition on inference about the earnings of general practitioners is small. For specialists, there appears to be some evidence for an economically significant bias. Finally, we discuss how the top-up samples in the Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life survey can be used to address the problem of panel attrition.
  • Item
    Thumbnail Image
    Changes in Doctors' Working Hours: A Longitudinal Analysis
    Joyce, CM ; Wang, WC ; Cheng, TC (SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC, 2015-10)
    The study examined changes in doctors' working hours and satisfaction with working hours over five time points and explored the influence of personal characteristics on these outcomes. Latent growth curve modeling was applied to Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life data, collected from 2008 to 2012. Findings showed that working hours significantly declined over time, with a greater decrease among males, older doctors, and doctors with fewer children. Satisfaction increased faster over time among specialists, doctors with poorer health, those whose partners did not work full-time, and those with older children. The more hours the doctors worked initially, the lower satisfaction reported, and the greater the increase in satisfaction. Findings are consistent with a culture change in the medical profession, whereby long working hours are no longer seen as synonymous with professionalism. This is important to take into account in projecting future workforce supply.
  • Item
    Thumbnail Image
    An empirical analysis of public and private medical practice in Australia
    Cheng, TC ; Joyce, CM ; Scott, A (ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD, 2013-06)
    The combination of public and private medical practice is widespread in many health systems and has important consequences for health care cost and quality. However, its forms and prevalence vary widely and are poorly understood. This paper examines factors associated with public and private sector work by medical specialists using a nationally representative sample of Australian doctors. We find considerable variations in the practice patterns, remuneration contracts and professional arrangements across doctors in different work sectors. Both specialists in mixed practice and private practice differ from public sector specialists with regard to their annual earnings, sources of income, maternity and other leave taken and number of practice locations. Public sector specialists are likely to be younger, to be international medical graduates, devote a higher percentage of time to education and research, and are more likely to do after hours and on-call work compared with private sector specialists. Gender and total hours worked do not differ between doctors across the different practice types.