Mature age employment participation: an analysis of the roles of work incentives, endowment and behaviour

This paper analyses the impacts of work incentives, socio-demographic characteristics andbehavioural factors on mature age employment participation decision. A decompositionanalysis is performed to determine whether the lower participation of mature age persons isdue to an endowment effect or a behavioural effect. The endowment effect represents the roleof work incentives and socio-demographic characteristics as determinants of employmentparticipation; the behavioural effect represents the role of preferences of mature age workersor age discrimination that impedes access to suitable job and career prospects. The workincentive findings indicate that mature age males and females have higher replacement ratesthan prime age males and females. However, the employment participation of mature agemales and females appear to be less sensitive to changes in replacement rates than theiryounger counterparts. The results from the decomposition analysis confirm that mature agepersons are less endowed with characteristics that favour employment participation thanprime age persons. However, their lower employment participation outcomes are stillprimarily due to behavioural, rather than endowment, effects

A measurement scale for students’ usage of online networks

Studies suggest that students are increasingly turning to information and communication technologies as learning tools in which they can present multiple identities quite explicitly tied to context, knowledge and understanding within online networks. Hence it is imperative for educational institutions to understand how twenty-first-century learners use online networks for their identity formation and learning experiences. Through a systematic review of existing instruments, constructs and elements were identified and used to develop a new conceptual research framework which was quantitatively tested on a convenience sample of students (n=300) at Sunway University in Malaysia. Based on the results, a measurement scale was developed and analysed through structural equation modelling and confirmatory factor analysis. The responses of the students revealed they are more likely to use online networks for identity formation than for the learning experience and that there is a relationship between identity formation, the learning experience and the use of online networks

Housing afforability dynamics in Australia 2001-06

This paper investigates the dynamics of housing affordability in Australia over the period 2001-06 using waves 1 to 6 of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey. We utilise a discrete time hazard model approach to examine whether housing affordability stress has increased over the period 2001-06, and whether spells in housing stress are transient or persistent. The results suggest that while most Australians escape unaffordable housing circumstances, there is a minority for whom unaffordable housing circumstances are a long term experience. Panel models are employed to estimate the impacts of socio-demographic characteristics on the probability of exiting from a spell of (un-) affordable housing given (un-) affordable housing in the previous year. The model findings indicate that those with children and have no employment are more prone to persistent housing affordability stress. However, residential moves during spells of housing affordability stress tend to alleviate housing cost burdens. Survival in affordable housing has become progressively more difficult over the 2001-06 timeframe, particularly for owner purchasers. This finding is unsurprising given a house price boom and rising interest rates over the period of analysis. Residential moves are again influential, but those made by households during a spell living in affordable housing are associated with the onset of housing affordability stress.JEL Classification: R2

Profiling gender differentials in asset and debt portfolios in Australia

This paper investigates gender differentials in asset and debt portfolios in Australia using the 2006 Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. The explorations described in this paper indicate that there are gendered dimensions to both the value and composition of asset and debt holdings in Australia. If we compare couple households with single men and women households then we find that women have both lower asset holdings and portfolios that are relatively overweighted in the primary home. In some respects single men households have portfolios that more closely resemble those of couple households than single women’s portfolios. This is particularly the case with the lower proportion of single men’s portfolios held in their primary home and their holding of accumulated superannuation wealth. To the extent that data reveal insights into gendered patterns of intrahousehold asset holdings, women’s holdings of solely owned assets are lower then men’s in all age groups and across all types of assets for which data are available. This pattern is particularly evident in de facto opposite sex couple households

Differences in job security satisfaction between native and migrant workers in Australia: Exploring gender dimensions

This paper investigates whether migrant workers are more or less satisfied with their job security than native workers, and whether these differences vary by gender using the 2007 Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. The analysis of migrants' satisfaction with job security is particularly important in an Australian labour market environment given that it is increasingly dominated by non-permanent jobs and migrant workers. The descriptive statistics indicate a significant difference in satisfaction with job security between migrant and native workers. Linear and ordered probit regressions are invoked to examine whether or not being a migrant has a negative impact on job security satisfaction levels after controlling for key socio-demographic, human capital and labour market characteristics and these regressions are conducted separately for male and female workers. The role of expectations in affecting one's satisfaction with job security is also explored. The model findings indicate that being a female migrant worker has a significant negative impact of job security satisfaction but the impact is insignificant for males. However, those who have spent the majority of their lifetime in Australia have assimilated more into the Australian labour market and are more comfortable with their job security

Job security satisfaction in Australia: do migrant characteristics and gender matter?

This paper utilises the HILDA Survey to examine the job security satisfaction of migrant workers. Using fixed effects models, stratified by migrant status and gender, we uncover native-migrant differences in the factors influencing workers’ job security satisfaction. The adverse effects of non-permanent contracts on job security satisfaction are greater for male migrants than their native counterparts. However, the job security satisfaction of male migrant workers is boosted by union membership and wage increases. Among female migrant workers, education is positively correlated with job security satisfaction. We investigate the influences of assimilation and English-speaking background on migrants’ job security satisfaction and find that the negative impacts of non-permanent contracts on job security satisfaction levels are augmented among female workers who are well-assimilated or who possess an English-speaking background. Variances in expectations between assimilated and non-assimilated workers and English-proficient versus non-English-proficient workers may explain these divergent outcomes within female migrant worker groups

Gender Comparisons of Asset and Debt Portfolios in Australia

This paper aims to address the gap in the evidence on gender differences in asset and debt holdings by comparing the level of net worth of single women and single men in Australia, and their asset portfolio composition. The findings reveal important gender differences in the level of net worth, especially at the top end of the wealth distribution. Using quantile regression models, we identify that the “route” to high net worth by single women is typically a longer one than it is for single men – in that single women with high net worth are, on average, older than their male counterparts – and the achievement of high net worth by single women is much more heavily dependent on inheritance through widowhood than it is for single men.These findings carry the important implication that there are important gender differences in the ability to independently achieve high levels of wealth in Australia, and single women’s ability to achieve comparable levels of wealth to their male counterparts at each life stage is limited. Furthermore, our findings on asset portfolio composition reveal that single women’s asset portfolios tend to be less diversified than single men; asset portfolios are least diversified among single women aged 65 years or over, reflecting the concentration of wealth held in the primary home among these households

Factors shaping the dynamics of housing affordability in Australia 2001-11

The models presented in this chapter yield some important findings that are largely in line with Wood and Ong's (2009) earlier findings. However, the current models extend over a longer timeframe and thus uncover some interesting new insights. The models of first spells in unaffordable housing show that most Australians in housing affordability stress escape within a relatively short period of time, though there is evidence of negative duration dependence. Thus, those who fail to exit unaffordable housing quickly find that their chances of escaping housing affordability stress decline sharply as spells lengthen. Mortgagors find it more difficult to manoeuvre out of unaffordable housing than private renters, because the high transaction costs they face impede moves that could ease housing stress. Self- or non-employment also diminish the prospects of evading unaffordable housing circumstances. Sole parents with young dependent children are particularly vulnerable to extended periods in housing affordability stress, as are ethnic groups from non-Englishspeaking backgrounds. While the study timeframe extends across the GFC and post-GFC years, we do not detect a statistically significant impact. Australians in unaffordable housing were perhaps unable to take advantage of lower interest rates and the slowdown in housing markets during the GFC, because it was accompanied by a parallel decline in labour markets, and thus job security. Area-based socio-economic status, as proxied by SEIFA deciles, appears to have a negligible impact on the odds of escaping unaffordable housing. The models of survival in affordable housing confirm that the majority of Australians in affordable housing can expect to sustain it. Furthermore, the models uncover a protective effect as spells in affordable housing lengthen. However, ethnic groups from a non-Englishspeaking background and sole parents with young children are once again more vulnerable, as are self-employed or unwaged persons. Here, job security also becomes important; the odds of surviving in affordable housing is reduced if one is on a part-time fixed-term contract or casual contract. Macro-economic conditions also matter. We find that the chances of sustaining affordable housing have fallen since the GFC