“An Investigation of Chronic and Transitory Poverty in Australia in the Twenty-First Century”, 2007 Australian Research Council Discovery Grant (Joan Rodgers).
It is estimated that between eight and 20 per cent of Australians are poor in any given year, depending upon what poverty line is used. However, a crucial distinction, not made in existing studies of disadvantaged Australians, is between chronic and transitory poverty. Not only is chronic poverty the more serious problem, it is likely to have different causes and effects and to call for different policy responses. This project uses newly available longitudinal data to investigate chronic and transitory poverty in Australia. The results will be useful in developing programs to reduce the most severe forms of poverty.
"The Role of Community Connectedness in Retaining Skilled Migrant Women in Australia", (Sara Solnicar, Lenore Lyons, Simon Ville, plus PhD studentship)
Australia relies on skilled migrant women to fill core skill shortages, yet there is little knowledge about how to successfully retain them in the country. We propose to (1) develop a model that includes community connectedness as a core component in explaining the loss of skilled migrant women; (2) assess the gains in community social capital that arise from the settlement of skilled migrant women; and (3) develop novel methodology to reduce cross-cultural response bias in surveys.
Results will inform policy makers in developing support measures to increase retention rates of skilled migrant women and will lay the methodological foundation for research on multicultural populations which is free of cross-cultural response bias.
“The Reserve Army of Labour: An Analysis of Older Worker Labour Markets in OECD Countries in the Context of an Ageing Society”, 2007 University Research Committee Grant,University of Wollongong (Martin O’Brien).
The aim of this proposed research program is to explore, in an international context, the use and effectiveness of government policy to mobilise the older age labour force (aged 55-64 years) as a tool to address ageing populations and associated fiscal (budget) pressures. Findings and recommendations will aid the Commonwealth’s government’s efficient delivery of its National Strategy for an Ageing Australia, particularly in the areas of welfare reform and labour force participation.
“Disciplinary-Focused Research Performance in Australian Universities”, 2006 University Research Committee Grant, University of Wollongong (Abbas Valadkhani and Simon Ville)
This project clusters and ranks Australia’s universities according to their research performance in terms of aggregate as well as ten broad fields of education over the period 2001-2004. Research performance across universities and various disciplines within each university is consistently measured, among others, according to the number of PhD and Master degree completions, various types of publications and grants and analysed in both total and per academic staff terms. In other words, this study uses cluster analysis to classify Australia’s higher education institutions and their corresponding broad educational units into homogenous groups that have similar quantities of research output.
Creativity and Innovation: Social Science Perspectives and Policy Implications, ARC Linkage Learned Academies Special Project (Simon Ville)
This project provides a multidisciplinary social science understanding of creativity and innovation. It examines how nine different social science disciplines –sociology, psychology, law, management, economics, history, policy studies, education and political science -- conceptualise and explain creativity and innovation and the relationship between the two processes. The project is significant as it addresses critical drivers of national progress and productivity --creativity and innovation – and contributes to a key national research priority goal, ‘Promoting an innovation culture and economy’.
Previous Grants
“Community Valuations of Environmental Quality in Coastal Lakes” 2006 NSW Environmental Trust Grant (Abbas Valadkhani and Ann Hodgkinson).
“Ranking of Australian University Research Performance by Discipline” 2005 Faculty Research Grant, The University of Wollongong (Abbas Valadkhani).
“Pre- and Post-GST Effects on Goods and Services Included in the CPI Basket” 2005 Faculty Research Grant, The University of Wollongong (Abbas Valadkhani).
“Determinants of Research Output of Australian Economics Departments 1997-2002: A Panel Approach”, 2003 University Research Committee Strategic Research Development Grant (Joan Rodgers and Frank Neri).
The last decade has brought about profound change to the higher education sector. One response has been the introduction of quality assurance programs to review practices and policies in pedagogy, staff development and management and training of research students. We believe it is also important to review the research capability of Australian academics especially at a time of increased demand for research quantity and quality. This application seeks funding for a panel study to determine which individual and institutional factors help to explain the large variations in research output observed across economics departments in Australia. Our results will be of interest to academics and university management both domestically and internationally and to bodies concerned with higher education policy such as the Federal government and the AVCC.
“The Job Mobility of Older Workers in Australia”, 2003 University Research Committee Strategic Development Grant (Martin O’Brien).
Extending the working life of older workers is an important policy goal in Australian and overseas in the context of an ageing society. However, current research on older workers’ job mobility is scant, except for the established finding that older workers have lower job mobility rates than younger workers. This study addresses this void with an analysis of unit record Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Labour Mobility Survey data. An alternative job mobility classification framework from that published by the ABS is developed, which distinguishes those successful at job mobility, those unsuccessful at job mobility, and those continuously employed. The composition of each group is analysed by educational status, industry and occupation, in order to determine the defining features of each group. However, findings suggest that the main influence on the likelihood of successful job mobility for older males is the voluntary or otherwise nature of their separation from employment. These findings have important implications for the federal government’s predominantly supply-sided policy reforms aimed at older workers.
“Quantifying the Effect of GST on Inflation in Australia's Capital Cities: An Intervention Analysis”, 2000 Queensland University of Technology New Researcher Grant (Abbas Valadkhani).
