20 research outputs found
The Role of Auctions in Allocating Public Resources
Get PDFThis paper provides an economic framework within which to consider the effectiveness and limitations of auction markets. The paper looks at the use of auctions as a policy instrument and the effects of auction design on consumer interests, the efficient allocation of resources, and industry competitiveness.Australia; Research; Ascending-bid auction; Auctions; Bidders; Conservation funds; Descending-bid auction; Dutch auction; English auction; Environmental Management; First-price sealed-bid auction; Infrastructure; Markets; Oral auction; Outcry auction; Pollutant emission permits; Power supply contracts; Public resources; Radio- spectrum; Second-price sealed-bid auction Spectrum licences; Vickrey auction; Water rights;
The role of technology in determining skilled employment: an economywide approach
Get PDFThis paper compares the role of technological change with that of trade in explaining the increased demand for skilled workers. The paper shows technology has played the dominant role in changing employment patterns in Australia. The finding is consistent across industries, including those having experienced increased import competition. Rising capital intensity of production has also promoted the employment of more highly skilled workers.technology - skilled employment - skilled labour - wages - employment - trade
The increasing demand for skilled workers in Australia: the role of technical change
Get PDFExamines how technological change has affected the demand for skilled workers. Over the past twenty years, there has been a shift toward employment of skilled workers in Australia, as well as in many other industrialised economies. While it has sometimes been argued that the trend toward skilled workers is due to increased trade with low wage countries, the paper shows other factors are at work. Changing employment patterns are more closely associated with a pull toward skilled workers, rather than a push away from lower skilled workers. The paper emphasises the role technology has played in shaping this demand.labour market - skilled workers - technical change - computers - employment - high skilled labour
Cdk5 Regulates Accurate Maturation of Newborn Granule Cells in the Adult Hippocampus
Get PDFNewborn granule cells become functionally integrated into the synaptic circuitry of the adult dentate gyrus after a morphological and electrophysiological maturation process. The molecular mechanisms by which immature neurons and the neurites extending from them find their appropriate position and target area remain largely unknown. Here we show that single-cellâspecific knockdown of cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (cdk5) activity in newborn cells using a retrovirus-based strategy leads to aberrant growth of dendritic processes, which is associated with an altered migration pattern of newborn cells. Even though spine formation and maturation are reduced in cdk5-deficient cells, aberrant dendrites form ectopic synapses onto hilar neurons. These observations identify cdk5 to be critically involved in the maturation and dendrite extension of newborn neurons in the course of adult neurogenesis. The data presented here also suggest a mechanistic dissociation between accurate dendritic targeting and subsequent synapse formation
Dutch disease in the South Pacific: evidence from the 1980s and beyond
No full textDutch Disease has been put forward, most notably by proponents of the MIRAB hypothesis, as an explanation for the shift of some South Pacific microstates away from productive activities towards rent-seeking and emigration. This paper reviews the mechanisms through which Dutch Disease is thought to operate, examines likely sources of this phenomenon, and assesses the evidence from Pacific island countries. Based on selected economic indicators, the Dutch Disease appears to have been a significant factor underlying structural change in some countries at least. The feasibility and desirability of policies designed to combat this transformation are considered
The Role of Auctions in Allocating Public Resources
No full text'The Role of Auctions in Allocating Public Resources' by Chris Chan, Patrick Laplagne and David Appels, was released on 20 February 2003. The paper provides an economic framework with which to consider the effectiveness and limitations of auction markets in allocating public resources. It links auction outcomes to bidders' behavioural characteristics and to the lack or imbalance of information available to governments and bidders. The analysis covers the key elements of an auction, including the auction form, the auction environment, the bidding behaviour and the implications for allocative efficiency and revenue.
The views expressed in this paper are those of the staff involved and do not necessarily reflect those of the Productivity Commission
Effects of health and education on labour force participation
No full textThe National Reform Agenda (NRA) proposed in 2006 by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) includes a human capital stream of reforms, designed to effect changes in health, education and work incentives. In 2006, the Productivity Commission undertook an assessment of the economic and fiscal impacts that NRA might produce by 2030, including impacts flowing from better health and education (Productivity Commission 2006).
The potential economic benefits of better health and education have been the subject of increasing policy interest in recent times in Australia. This interest has largely been motivated by the projected implications of population ageing in terms of lowered labour force participation and output growth. The observation that Australia lags some comparable countries in terms of labour force participation has signalled one possible avenue for alleviating the economic effects of ageing. Also, claims that skill shortages may be limiting growth in some regions and industries have added to the interest in the potential for greater labour force participation to ease some of the economic bottlenecks Australia may encounter.
 
