A credit derivative is a financial instrument whose value depends on the credit risk of an underlying asset or assets. Credit risk is the possibility that the obligor fails to honor any payment obligation. This thesis proposes four new computational methods for the valuation of credit...

By facilitating mutually beneficial transactions, trust is a crucial ingredient for economic development. We explore the determinants of trust by studying a model in which agents rely on imperfectly enforceable contracts to support cooperation in a prisoners' dilemma production game. We show how...

It is common for comparisons to be made of output growth and inflation across groups of countries, yet such comparisons can result in inconsistencies. We address two problems: (i) how to measure aggregate real output and inflation for groups of countries and (ii) how to construct measures of...

This paper constructs a quantitative general equilibrium lifecycle model with uninsurable labor income to account for the differences in the pattern of wealth accumulation across two countries, Korea and the United States. The model incorporates the differences in the housing market institution...

We consider the impact of the recent trend in immigration policies towards selecting migrants on the basis of skills. The analysis uses an inter-temporal general equilibrium model with endogenous skill formation. The model is calibrated to a steady state benchmark that represents Australia in...

While smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death in Australia, existing policy options, except for bans on smoking at public places, seem to have limited scope for expansion. Eight new smoking bans, introduced in six different Australian jurisdictions over 2003 and 2005, provide a...

Childhood obesity has increased dramatically in the developed world. One cause of this trend, suggested by studies in the United States, is the increase in maternal employment. This paper explores if the causal relationship exists in Australia. Using recent data from the Longitudinal Survey of...

I study a model of political agency where a media firm plays a monitoring role between the electorate and the politician. The analysis focuses on the design of a legal framework for the press such that corruption is minimized. I find that an antidefamation law punishing media that publish false...

We consider a directed search environment where capacity constrained sellers reach uncoordinated buyers through costly advertising while buyers observed all prices probabilistically. We show that: (i) the equilibrium advertising intensity has an inverted U-shape in market tightness, (ii) the...