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Home > Faculty of Commerce > Economics > Health Environment Dev...

Health, Environmental, Development and Growth Economics (HEDGE)

Research Centre

HEDGE was formed in 2007 as a research centre with a focus on the interrelated issues of health, environment and economic development and growth. The principal objective of the centre is to serve as a forum for generating ideas and fostering socioeconomic research in the said areas that lead to high quality studies and publications. The centre joined the university-based Social Innovation Network in mid 2007.

Members

• Mrs. Reetu Verma
• Dr. Arusha Cooray
• Dr. Kanakesu Jayanthakumaran
• Dr. Khorshed Chowdhury
• A.Prof. Ann Hodgkinson
• A.Prof. Ed Wilson
• A.Prof. Amnon Levy (coordinator)

Current Research Projects

Health Services, Epidemics and Economic Growth

This project investigates the relationships between health and economic growth with time-series and cross-country panel data. The investigation includes a cross-country analysis of the effect of population health and health services on total factor productivity, cointegration and causality tests of investment in public-health services and economic growth, and a simultaneous-equation econometric analysis of public spending on health, prevalence of epidemics, and economic growth.

Public and/or Private Health Services: Quality, Cost and Affordability

The objective of this project is to assess the efficiency of Australia’s two-tier system of health service provision and compare it to other international systems.

Environmental Health Hazard and Choice of Residence

This project develops a conceptual framework for analysing the relationships between the values and dispersion of residential properties and the environmental-health quality of their locations. A residents’ health-adjusted lifetime-utility function is constructed by combining satisfaction from consumption over the lifespan with risk to life from living in an environmentally unhealthy location. This utility function is employed in assessing willingness to pay for environmental-health quality, choice of location and residential dispersion and its relationship with income distribution. The conceptual framework will be applied for testing the effect of distance from Port Kembla steel work on the market value of houses in greater Wollongong.

Between City and Bush

A model of optimal allocation of water with implications for population growth, urban-rural composition, environment and public health is developed. The project intents to apply the model to assess the Illawara and Sholehaven’s export of water to Sydney and to evaluate the allocation of water along the Murray-Darling basin.

Sticky floors, glass ceilings and mental depression

The terms “sticky floor” and “glass ceiling” are casually used to indicate low promotion prospects for employees with minority backgrounds. This project will assess the appropriateness of their use in a relatively transparent and growth-essential knowledge-industry—the public university system. It will estimate the effects of a worker’s ethnic representation and the representation of co-workers with different ethnic backgrounds on the floor and above the ceiling on the worker’s career prospects. Assessing the prevalence and causes of unequal opportunities for employees with minority backgrounds is essential for addressing ethnically based disparities and improving the allocation of human resources and employees’ satisfaction and mental health in a multicultural society. (An application for a two-year funding as an ARC Discovery Project was submitted in March 2007.)

Developmental, environmental and health economic aspects of internal conflicts

The objective of this project is to highlight the nexus of relationships between rival groups’ strength and developmental, environmental and health economic variables in countries plagued by internal conflict. The project constructs a macroeconomic model for such countries that spells the various channels through which internal conflicts can influence the country’s economy, environment and public health and the rival groups’ armament race and reliance on foreign powers.

Evaluation of environmental improvement – Lake Illawarra case study

This project has been funded by the Environmental Trust for 2007. It uses the Hedonic Pricing method to evaluate how the community values improvements to the water quality and surrounds of Lake Illawarra by estimating incremental changes in house prices in the area. If the methodology proves successful, it could be extended to coastal lakes throughout NSW.

Cost effectiveness analysis of community service delivery

This project has been discussed with the Illawarra Forum, the peak body for NGOs in the Illawarra. It would involve an analysis of different funding methods for community service delivery, particularly a comparison of long term base funding versus short term project money. Some preliminary work has been undertaken but it has not progressed due to time constraints on both parties.

Coomaditchie Web site development

A community website has been developed for the Coomaditchie Artists Cooperative in Warrawong. It allows for e-commerce sales of local artwork and dissemination of aboriginal culture to the wider community. Further work is required in relation to training in computer and business activities and marketing of the site. Conference and journal papers are being developed.

Publications in 2007/8

Chowhury, K. (2007), “Testing Financial Liberalisation Hypothesis with ARDL Modelling Approach”, Applied Financial Economics, Vol 17, No.18: 1529-1540 (with Min B. Shrestha).

Chowhury, K. (2007), “Family Values and Cultural Continuity among the Displaced East Bengal Hindus in Kolkata”, The International Journal of Diversity in Organisations, Communities and Nations, Vol 6, No.6: 1-15 (with Golam S Khan).

Chowhury, K. (2007), “Are the Real Exchange Rate Indices of Australia Stationary in the Presence of Structural Break?”, International Review of Business Research Papers, Vol.3 No.5: 161-181.

Chowhury, K. (2007), “Impact of Financial Liberalisation on Welfare: Evidence from Nepal”, Applied Econometrics and International Development, Vol. 7, No. 1: 165-178 (with Min B. Shrestha).

Jayanthakumaran, K. (2008). Trade liberalisation and lagged reactions of trade flows, productivity and internal demand: an application to the Australian PMV industry. Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, 13 (1), 24-45. (With Sanidas, E.)

Jayanthakumaran, K. & Verma, R. (2007). Regional income convergence: the ASEAN-5 evidence, 6th International Conference of the Japan Economy Policy Association. Tokyo: Japan Economic policy Association.

Jayanthakumaran, K. (2007). Structural breaks in trade and income per capita in ASEAN-5 countries: an application of Innovational Outlier models. Applied Econometrics and International Development, 7 (2), 209-218 (with Pahlavani, M.).

Jayanthakumaran, K. (2007). The Complementarity Hypothesis of Integration: Regionalism, Multilateralism and the ASEAN-5. The Asia Pacific Journal of Economics and Business, 11 (1), 40-60 (with Sanidas, E.).

Jayanthakumaran, K. (2007). The impact of exchange rate volatility on Indonesia's exports to the USA: an application of ARDL Bounds testing procedure. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research, 5 (1), 1-21 (with Bustaman, A.).

Jayanthakumaran, K., (2007). Trade reforms and breakpoints in Australia's manufactured trade: an application of the Zivot and Andrews model. International Journal of Applied Econometrics and Quantitative Studies, 4 (2), 69-78 (with Pahlavani, M. & Neri, F. V.)

Levy, A. 2008, “Environmental Health and Choice of Residence”, Australian Economic Papers [accepted for publication on 16 March 2008, Blackwell, estimated to be 15 pages].

Levy, A. 2008, “Macroeconomic Aspects of Internal Conflicts: A Conceptualisation”, Defence and Peace Economics 19 [available online via the following doi link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10242690701833191, accepted for publication on 16 November 2007, in press (Routledge), 8 pages].

Levy, A., 2008, “A Theory of Entrenched Socioeconomic Deprivation and Addiction to Strong Mind-Altering Substances”, The Journal of Socio-Economics [accepted on 11 December 2007, in press (Elsevier), available online via the following doi link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2007.12.007, 12 pages, proofread].

Levy, A. and Faria, J.R., 2008, "Persistent High Ambition and Substance Abuse: A Rationalization of a Vicious Circle”, Journal of Economics [accepted on 9 January 2008, available online via the following doi link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00712-008-0005-3, in press (Springer-Verlag), 14 pages].

Levy, A., 2008, “From Hatred to Genuine Peace: A Dynamic Formulation of Conflict Resolution”, International Mathematical Forum 3 (1), pp. 43 - 47.

Levy, A. and Caputo (40%), M.R., 2007, “Optimal Control of Locusts in Subsistence Farming Areas”, European Journal of Operational Research [available online via the following doi link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2007.07.024, in press, 13 pages].

Levy, A., 2007, “Optimal Enlistment Age: An Analysis and Some Simulations”, European Journal of Operational Research 180(1), pp. 418-425.

Levy, A. and Faria, J.R., 2007, “Ramsey in Dual-Population Lands: Internal Conflict and Utility-Maximizing Consumption”, Defence and Peace Economics 18(4), pp. 339-352.

Levy, A., 2007, “Partnership with Partial Commitment: A Game Theoretical Approach”, International Mathematical Forum 2, pp. 2951 – 2961.

Levy, A. and Zamani, R., 2007, “Optimal Size and Urban-Rural Composition of a Distant, Large, Arid Island: A Model and Some Numerical Simulations”, The Open Operational Research Journal 1, pp. 9-15. (Invited for launching the journal and is used as template for contributors.)

Verma, R., ‘Savings, Investment and Growth in India (2007): An Application of the ARDL Bounds Testing Approach’, South Asia Economic Journal, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp.87-98.

Verma, R. (2007), ‘Unit Root Tests and Structural Breaks: A Survey with Applications’, Journal of Quantitative Methods for Economics and Business Administration, Vol. 3, June, pp. 63-79. (with Glynn, J; Perera, N).

Verma, R., Wilson, E. J, & Pahlavani, M. (2007), ‘The Role of Capital Formation and Saving in Promoting Economic Growth in Iran’, The Middle East Business and Economic Review, Vol 19, No.1, June, pp.8-22.

Wilson, E. J. (2007), ‘Are Cointegrated Stock Prices Consistent with the Efficient Market Hypothesis?’, The Economic Record, 83, S87-93, (with H. A. Marashdeh).

Wilson, E. J. (2008), ‘How to Make a Dis-Entrepreneur of the Schumpeterian Entrepreneur: The Impact of Institutional Settings on Growth Models’, forthcoming in Public Choice (accepted for publication, with G. Eusepi).