ANU Research School of Economics (RSE)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/1885/9281
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Item Open Access Information and the Risk-Averse Firm(Canberra, ACT : School of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Commerce, The Australian National University, 2001) Quiggin, John; Chambers, R. GItem Open Access Jobs, working hours, and remuneration packages for migrants and urban residents(Canberra, ACT: Research School of Economics, The Australian National University, 2009-04) Frijters, Paul; Lee, Leng; Meng, XinIn this chapter we look at the working conditions and remuneration of migrants versus incumbent urban residents in China in the 2008 wave of the RUMiCI project. We find that the average hourly compensation for an urban worker is more than double that of migrants. Inequality of non-wage compensation is higher than that of hourly wages, mainly because urban workers are much more likely to benefit from various insurance schemes than migrants. Nearly three-quarters of the hourly compensation differences can be explained by observable characteristics. Returns to education and experience are lower for the migrants. They also have less education and accumulate less experience, perchance due to the temporary nature of the migration. We find strong differences between cities. For example, total compensation in Wuxi, Hefei, Ningbo and Chengdu is roughly the same for migrants as for the equivalent urban city dweller with the same characteristics. This equal treatment is also reflected in non-wage remuneration components. Yet in Chongqing and several other cities, a migrant is paid less than half the equivalent urban city dweller. This suggests that some cities ‘compete’ for migrants whilst others do not, and it also suggests that there are many city dwellers who would be better off if they move to other cities.Item Open Access Labour markets in recession and recovery: the UK and the USA in the 1920s and 1930s(Canberra, ACT: Centre for Economic History, Australian National University, 2012-03) Hatton, Timothy J.; Thomas, MarkWe examine the labour market experience of the UK and the US in the recessions of the early 1920s and the early 1930s and the subsequent recoveries. These were deep recessions, comparable to that of 2008-9, but the recoveries were very different. In the UK the recovery of the 1920s was incomplete but that of the 1930s was rather less protracted than in the US. By contrast the US experienced very strong recovery in the 1920s but weaker recovery from the much deeper recession of the 1930s. A key ingredient to understanding these patterns is the interaction between economic shocks and labour market institutions. Here we survey the large literature on interwar labour markets to identify the key elements that underpinned labour market performance. We find that developments in wage setting institutions and in unemployment insurance inhibited a return to full employment in interwar Britain while in the US, New Deal legislation impeded labour market adjustment in the 1930s. We conclude with an assessment of the policy responses to labour market crises in the past and in the present.Item Open Access Living standards in South Africa's former homelands(Canberra, ACT: Centre for Economic History, Australian National University, 2012-03) Mariotti, MartineI exploit the sudden increase in employment in 1975, 1976 and 1977 in some former homelands by comparing the long term adult physical outcomes of children benefitting from the employment increase to those not subject to it. Using a standard difference in difference approach I find that there was some malnutrition in the homelands resulting in stunting in African men born during the shock providing support to the foetal origins hypothesis. The employment shock did not affect other long term outcomes such as education and general health, although there is some evidence of an improvement in long term health. This study provides previously unmeasured individual level information on the quality of life in the homelands during apartheid, an era when African living standards were neglected but unmeasured because of a lack of data collection.Item Open Access Pipe dreams and tunnel visions: economists and Australian population debates before the Baby Boom(Canberra, ACT: Centre for Economic History, Australian National University, 2012-03) Coleman, WilliamAustralia is notably, if not notoriously, a land of much space but few people. Its population density is, correspondingly, almost the lowest of any country in the world: only Namibia and Mongolia record a lower figure. Australia’s extreme divergence from the common human experience has been a magnet for strong reactions; and Australia’s small population has frequently judged either being a failing or a blessing. Economists, however, have in the past two generations tended to keep their silence on this issue. But for about 20 years prior to the postWar baby boom economists did have some confidence that simple economic theory could constitute a guide to population policy, under the rubric of ‘optimal population’ theory. This paper reviews Australian explorations of ‘optimal population’ in the period, and concludes the episode provides a moral on the frustrations that may meet hopes that simple economic theory can provide answers to large questions.Item Open Access Population, migration and labour supply: Great Britain 1871 - 2011(Canberra, ACT: Centre for Economic History, Australian National University, 2012-06) Hatton, TimA country's most important asset is its people. This paper outlines the development of Britain's human resources since the middle of the 19th century. It focuses on four key elements. The first is the demographic transition - the processes through which birth rates and death rates fell, leading to a slowdown in population growth. The second is the geographical reallocation of population through migration. This includes emigration and immigration as well as migration within Britain. The third issue is labour supply: the proportion of the population participating in the labour market and the amount and type of labour supplied. Related to this, the last part of the chapter charts the growth in education and skills of the population and the labour force.Item Open Access Relief during the great depression in Australia and America(Canberra, ACT: Centre for Economic History, Australian National University, 2012-07) Fishback, Price V.I compare and contrast the relief efforts in response to the extraordinary employment of the Great Depression in the U.S. and Australia. The effectiveness of relief spending in America at the local level is discussed with reference to a series of studies that I have performed with a series of co-authors. To compare the U.S. demographic results with the impact of relief spending in Australia, I develop a panel data set for the Australian states from 1929 through 1939 and then estimate the relationship between relief spending by the states and various demographic measures, including infant mortality, the death rate, the crude birth rate, marriage rates, and the divorce rate.Item Open Access Rural to urban migration in China:An overall view(Canberra, ACT: Research School of Economics, The Australian National University, 2009-09) Frijters, Paul; Meng, XinChina is not merely growing at more than double the rate of the European countries during the Industrial Revolution, it is also urbanising at double the speed. Using a unique dataset of rural-to-urban migrants in 15 major Chinese cities, we give preliminary answers to some of the most pressing policy questions: how many migrants are there and what are their attributes? Are they dissatisfied or are their children doing worse than the children of others? Are they discriminated against in the labour market and, if so, what are the mechanisms via which this discrimination works and where are the market forces to undo the discrimination?Item Open Access Rural–Urban migration in Indonesia: Survey design and implementation(Canberra, ACT: Research School of Economics, The Australian National University, 2009-12) Resosudarmo, Budy P.; Yamauchi, Chikako; Effendi, TadjuddinThis paper summarizes the study design of the Rural–Urban Migration in Indonesia (RUMiI) project. We first discuss the overall distribution of migrants in Indonesia and the selection of survey cities. Next, we describe the process of identifying the migration status of each household in the sampling frame, using a pre-survey listing. This is followed by a discussion of the sampling method, focusing on the oversampling of migrant households. The timeline of the survey is then discussed and the questionnaire is summarized. Finally, we provide some concluding remarks.