This document estimates a demand equation for petrol in Australia. It explores a methodological improvement to the standard dynamic demand model – a more general model which allows for slowly evolving, unobservable habits. If this habit formation model with unobserved stocks is correct, then...

The main focus of this paper is on the accuracy of predicted wages for the nonemployed. We first examine whether the three groups of non-employed–the unemployed, the marginally attached, and the not in the labour force–should be modelled separately or together. We conclude that these are...

We examine whether subjective responses to survey questions about child care availability, quality, and cost, aggregated at the local geographical level, have any explanatory power in models of workforce participation and labour supply. We find that married women who live in areas with more...

The degree of responsiveness of Australian women’s labour supply to child care cost has been a matter of some debate. There is a view that the level of responsiveness is very low or negligible, running counter to international and anecdotal evidence. In this paper we review the Australian and...

The purpose of this paper is to improve our understanding of the relationship between child care price and women's labour supply. We specify and estimate a discrete, structural model of the joint household decision over women’s labour supply and child care demand. Parents care about the...