Suchergebnisse

This research note takes an occupational attainment approach to examining the economic assimilation of immigrants in Australia. This approach differs from much of the existing literature, which tends to examine economic assimilation by looking at levels of (un)employment or wages. Focusing on occupational attainment is useful, in that disadvantage in the labour market is not limited to employment status and earnings, and an individual's occupation may provide a broader signal of their economic and social well-being. Findings indicate that, on arrival, immigrants from a non-English speaking background face significant disadvantage in occupational attainment, particularly those from Asian countries. There is also evidence to suggest that those who arrive later in life, or are from an Asian non-English speaking background, are the least likely to assimilate over time. Results are indicative of the need for policies to better integrate immigrants from more diverse cultures and societies into the Australian labour market.

AbstractThe Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have predicted with high confidence that the risk of bushfires will increase in the future. As this risk increases, so too does the need for appropriate policy responses. In developing these responses, costs need to be weighed against benefits. To fully appreciate the benefits of bushfire risk mitigation policies and strengthen the development of social policies around such events, it is necessary to include the psychological cost of experiencing these events. In this study, we employ the 'life satisfaction approach' to place a monetary estimate on the cost of Australia's Black Saturday bushfires (Australia's worst bushfires on record). Results reveal that the bushfires significantly reduce self‐reported levels of life satisfaction, with an implied willingness‐to‐pay of AUD 2,991 in terms of annual household income, or AUD 1,039 per capita, to reduce by one percent the extent to which an individual's immediate local area was affected by the Black Saturday bushfires. In doing so, we identify an apparent gap between current levels of expenditure on bushfire response and mitigation, and that amount which (with the inclusion of associated social benefits) would be welfare maximising.

AbstractThis article presents evidence from Australia showing linkages between income inequality in an individual's geographical region and life satisfaction. Higher income inequality is associated with lower self‐rated life satisfaction. In contrast to expectations that inequality may primarily be an issue of concern for poorer individuals, the relationship holds strongly for higher income households, but the evidence for lower income households is less conclusive. Shadow price estimates indicate that, in order to offset the effect of annual changes in inequality over the sample period (2001–2009), an average Australian would require compensatory changes of approximately 3–9 per cent in income each year (about $3,689 in 2009).