Economics Department

Seeking to assess the impact of a program on a set of outcomes, impact evaluations carry great weight in the improvement of policies and programs across government and industry.

This project provides an overview of the spectrum of technical approaches that could be deployed to evaluate the impact of direct cash transfers that are used to improve the well-being of vulnerable populations in Australia. 

Private hospitals are an important aspect of our healthcare system: but are the financial incentives and penalties associated with private health insurance effective or equitable? This research explores the impact government incentives have on the demand for private health insurance in Australia. 

What do the increasing temperatures caused by climate change mean for businesses? This research explores the economic cost of heat stress and its impact on labour capacity – aiming to contribute to the design of the best working restriction schedules under heat stress.

Hosting some of the world’s poorest economies, West Africa faces acute challenges in relation to its demographic, educational and economic transformations. To shape policy recommendations, this research explores the puzzling relationship between unemployment and education to understand how this shapes education decisions for labour market entrants. 

In improving real-life outcomes, such as human capital accumulation and better financial decision making, it is important to understand the impact of time preferences (e.g. patience) on an individual’s decision making. This research aims to support new policy suggestions by developing an understanding of how outside factors influence the stability of time preferences.