Government Policies On Employment And Superannuation: Contradictions And Consequences For Older Australians

Older women today are most likely to live on limited incomes and are more dependent on the age pension than men. This paper examines the Federal government's employment policies that have reduced older women's opportunities to save for retirement and the government's attempt in recent years to equalise women's economic status. These policies also discouraged the participation of women in the paid workforce and confined them to low paid, part time, casual employment. Up until 1988 very few superannuation schemes allowed part time and casual workers to join or retain membership. As Superannuation Guarantee Charge is based on continuous paid work people in unpaid work, such as household chores and caring, are excluded. The principle of self-reliance as reflected in the Home and Community Care programme will further erode women's employment opportunities since it relies on unpaid carers, who are mostly women. Recently the gender gap has narrowed owing to increased Federal funding for childcare, the equal pay case, affirmative action and the universal superannuation provisions that bridge broken work patterns. However these come too late for today's older women. The past inequalities experienced by Australian women are now amplified during their retirement. Many older women today are the major recipients of the very institution that contributed to their lower economic status.

The Supply of Doctors in Australia: Is There A Shortage?

understand the situation better, this paper reviews the current English language literature on the supply of doctors in developed and developing countries with a special interest in Australia. The definition of doctor shortage and the accepted ratio of patients to full-time equivalent (FTE) doctors that is followed in this paper, is the one that is provided by the Australian Government�s Department of Health and Ageing. The issue of supply imbalance with respect to doctors is one that is particularly controversial in Australia, with some policy-makers arguing that it is a problem of under-utilisation of existing doctors, not under supply. The paper focuses on the literature on (1) mobility issues relating to geographical and sectoral imbalances, (2) incentive issues (monetary and non-monetary) relating to medical specialisation imbalance and (3) government regulation issues relating to geographical, sectoral and professional specialisation imbalances. The paper offers some suggestions to deal with the problem of supply imbalance. One of the key findings is that developed countries such as Australia cannot continue to rely on foreign-born overseas trained doctors to fill the gaps in supply. Hence, to solve the medical workforce crisis, Australia will have to increase the number of doctors being trained.

Socio-Economic Impact Of Social Ties On Community Care For Older Australians

Mounting pressure on government expenditure, from the needs of an ageing population, has led to the introduction of the Home and Community Care (HACC) programme, based upon the self-reliance principle. This programme may, however, disadvantage certain groups, as its success depends, in part on the informal support from family and friends. It is essential, therefore that we examine older Australians individual characteristics to help explain the levels of informal care and support presently available, as represented by the social network. Using a regression analysis of the information collected from 401 non-institutionalised older Gold Coast residents sampled in a household survey conducted in 1999, we test two hypotheses: 1. gender, education and household type explain levels of social network accessed by older people; 2. older males are more vulnerable than older females to the social network effect of living alone. Based on the findings of our study, we have concerns about the accessibility of the informal care and support (from family and friends) available for older men living alone as the level of the social network was the lowest for this group of older Australians.

Determinants Of Unionisation For Part-Time Women Employees In Australian Banks

Against the declining trend of Australian employees to join unions, unionisation of part-time female employees in the banking industry is relatively strong. For the finance and insurance industry in 2001, 30.3% of total part-time female employees were unionised compared to 25% of full-time female employees and 17.2% of full-time male employees. Overall, 22.3% of employees from this industry were members (ABS, 2002). Under freedom of association, what can influence an individual's decision to unionise? A survey was conducted on three major Australian banks in August 2000. We use a binary choice regression model to analyse personal and union-organising characteristics that significantly influence individual's decision to unionise. Previous membership under union preference provisions and earning relatively high wages would lead to a higher probability to join the union. Union's role in enterprise bargaining and whether union did anything to recruit have significant impact on individual decisions. Thus, part-time female employees are not unwilling to join when they recognise the need for job protection.

Government Policies On Employment And Superannuation: Contradictions And Consequences For Older Australians

Older women today are most likely to live on limited incomes and are more dependent on the age pension than men. This paper examines the Federal government's employment policies that have reduced older women's opportunities to save for retirement and the government's attempt in recent years to equalise women's economic status. These policies also discouraged the participation of women in the paid workforce and confined them to low paid, part time, casual employment. Up until 1988 very few superannuation schemes allowed part time and casual workers to join or retain membership. As Superannuation Guarantee Charge is based on continuous paid work people in unpaid work, such as household chores and caring, are excluded. The principle of self-reliance as reflected in the Home and Community Care programme will further erode women's employment opportunities since it relies on unpaid carers, who are mostly women. Recently the gender gap has narrowed owing to increased Federal funding for childcare, the equal pay case, affirmative action and the universal superannuation provisions that bridge broken work patterns. However these come too late for today's older women. The past inequalities experienced by Australian women are now amplified during their retirement. Many older women today are the major recipients of the very institution that contributed to their lower economic status

Socio-Economic Impact Of Social Ties On Community Care For Older Australians

Mounting pressure on government expenditure, from the needs of an ageing population, has led to the introduction of the Home and Community Care (HACC) programme, based upon the self-reliance principle. This programme may, however, disadvantage certain groups, as its success depends, in part on the informal support from family and friends. It is essential, therefore that we examine older Australians individual characteristics to help explain the levels of informal care and support presently available, as represented by the social network. Using a regression analysis of the information collected from 401 non-institutionalised older Gold Coast residents sampled in a household survey conducted in 1999, we test two hypotheses: 1. gender, education and household type explain levels of social network accessed by older people; 2. older males are more vulnerable than older females to the social network effect of living alone. Based on the findings of our study, we have concerns about the accessibility of the informal care and support (from family and friends) available for older men living alone as the level of the social network was the lowest for this group of older Australians

Effects of the New Cooperative Medical Scheme on village doctor’s prescribing behaviour in Shandong Province

Objective: To assess the effects of China’s new community health insurance, the New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS), on village doctors’ prescribing behaviour. NCMS began in 2003. Method, In 2005 we conducted a quasi-experimental case-control study in Shandong Province, and collected information from 2,271 patient visits in 30 village health stations. Results, NCMS has adversely influenced prescribing behaviour of village doctors. Average number of drugs prescribed, percentage of prescriptions containing antibiotics, number of antibiotics per prescription, percentage of patients given injections, and average per prescription cost were consistently higher in NCMS village health stations than non-NCMS. Within NCMS villages, prescribing behaviour towards insured patients was significantly different to the uninsured. Conclusion, Over-prescribing is common in villages with and without health insurance, with grave concerns for service quality and drug-use safety. Policy implications are NCMS should be redesigned to exert more influence on health providers, with incentives for cost containment and service quality. Stricter regulatory environment for prescriptions is necessary to counter irrational drug-use and ensure people’s access to effective care at reasonable cost.

Determinants Of Unionisation For Part-Time Women Employees In Australian Banks

Against the declining trend of Australian employees to join unions, unionisation of part-time female employees in the banking industry is relatively strong. For the finance and insurance industry in 2001, 30.3% of total part-time female employees were unionised compared to 25% of full-time female employees and 17.2% of full-time male employees. Overall, 22.3% of employees from this industry were members (ABS, 2002). Under freedom of association, what can influence an individual's decision to unionise? A survey was conducted on three major Australian banks in August 2000. We use a binary choice regression model to analyse personal and union-organising characteristics that significantly influence individual's decision to unionise. Previous membership under union preference provisions and earning relatively high wages would lead to a higher probability to join the union. Union's role in enterprise bargaining and whether union did anything to recruit have significant impact on individual decisions. Thus, part-time female employees are not unwilling to join when they recognise the need for job protection

Socioeconomic Differentials of the Aged on Queensland's Gold Coast: Why Education Matters

This is a socioeconomic study of Gold Coast aged residents to explore their access to private resources (wealth, health and social network) by focusing on individual characteristics (gender and education). The analysis tests the hypothesis that socioeconomic differentials exist between men and women aged 65 and over, by conducting a household survey of 401 residents in 1999. Issues specific to Queensland's Gold Coast (e.g. length of residence and accommodation type) were also investigated. The analyses revealed that when segregated into single-person and couple households, more single women were economically disadvantaged than single men, but more single men were found to be socially disadvantaged than single women. Education was significant in explaining socioeconomic differentials in both household types and explained some of the gender differences in single-person households