Has Investment in Australia's Manufacturing Sector Become More Export Oriented?

A more competitive and export-oriented manufacturing sector is an important objective of the Australian Labor Government's economic strategy. In furthering this objective levels of tariff protection have been lowered and foreign exchange markets deregulated. The strategy has been boosted by the competitive gain afforded by depreciation of the Australian dollar in 1985 and 1986. This article offers estimates of the size of Australian manufacturing investment in export-creating capacity over the period 1980-81 to 1987-88. A breakdown of these estimates by individual industries is also provided.Our estimates indicate an improving trend since depreciation of the Australian dollar. However, this improvement has been from a low base. Moreover, the levels of investment in export-creating capacity have yet to attain the levels prevailing in the early 1980s, and there are worrying signs that the improving trend stalled toward the end of the period. However, the breakdown of our estimates by industry groupings shows positive changes in the pattern of investment in export-creating capacity. There has been a movement away from resource-based manufactures and a larger share for elaborately transformed manufactures. This is a favourable shift in emphasis since such technologically sophisticated manufactures have been amongst the fastest growing world markets. Copyright 1991 The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research.

Impacts of prices and transactions costs on input usage in a liberalizing economy: evidence from Tanzanian coffee growers

Despite improvements in production incentives, agricultural output in Africa remained sluggish through the 1990s. Low use of purchased inputs may be part of the cause of persistently low productivity in African agriculture. This article analyzes the roles of relative prices and transactions costs in explaining low use of chemical inputs among Tanzanian coffee growers. A sample selection model indicates that output prices exert great influence on input purchases and that both fixed and variable transactions costs affect input use decisions. Travel costs in input and output markets have distinct effects on input usage, implying distinct avenues for interventions to promote more intensive use of agricultural inputs. Copyright 2005 International Association of Agricultural Economics.

Liquidity constraints, access to credit and pro-poor growth in rural Tanzania

Small-scale farmers in developing countries may become trapped in poverty by lack of the liquidity needed to make profitable investments. Increased access to credit could generate pro-poor economic growth if poor households are otherwise liquidity-constrained and if liquidity-constrained households benefit from the new financial services. Using household data from rural Tanzania, this paper presents evidence that increased finance for liquidity-constrained households could generate pro-poor agricultural growth, but that general expansion of financial services to households that have no access to credit would not effectively target lower income households or households whose farm activities are liquidity-constrained. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Age Structure of Contemporary Homelessness: Evidence and Implications for Public Policy

Amidst concern about the implications of an aging U.S. population, recent evidence suggests that there is a unique aging trend among the homeless population. Building on this, we use data from New York City and from the last three decennial Census enumerations to assess how the age composition of the homeless population -- both single adults and adults in families -- has changed over time. Findings show diverging trends in aging patterns for single adults and adults in families over the past 20 years. Among single adults, the bulk of the sheltered population is comprised of persons born during the latter part of the baby boom era whose high risk for homelessness has continued as they have aged. Specifically, the age group in this population facing the highest risk for homelessness was 34-36 (born 1954-1956) in 1990; 37-42 (born 1958-1963) in 2000; and 49-51 (born 1959-1961) in 2010. In contrast, among adults in sheltered families, there is no indication of any progressive aging of the family household heads. The modal age across the study period remains at 21-23 years of age. We consider implications for the health care and social welfare systems, and policy responses to homelessness