This paper analyzes the source of the gender gap in third grade numeracy and reading. We adopt an Oaxaca-Blinder approach and decompose the gender gap in educational achievement into endowment and response components. Our estimation relies on unusually rich panel data from the Longitudinal...

In this paper we estimate the interdependence of labour force participation decisions made by Australian couples from 2001 to 2011. We focus on couples with a mature age husband, and estimate the interdependence of the participation decision of the couple. We find that the decision of a wife to...

We analyze the relationship between the age profile of retirement within an immigrant population and aggregate return migration rates for individuals from different countries of origin. The latter serves as a proxy for the relative net benefits of return migration to that origin country. Our...

This paper examines the impacts of recent Australian welfare to work reforms for low-income parents of school-aged children who had been in receipt of Parenting Payment - the main welfare payment for this group - for at least one year. Specifically, the reforms introduced a requirement to engage...

The Australian income tax and transfer system has undergone considerable reform since the mid 1980s. As a number of commentators have pointed out, one impact of reforms to cash transfers for families, as well as of some reforms to direct taxes, has been the evolution of a defacto system of...

This paper is aimed at providing advice to young Australian Politicians and Policy Analysts. The paper explains common dangers in policy formulation and implementation. It also explains the usual political pressures that distort policy formulation and common sources of policy failures.