http://hdl.handle.net/10453/258 2013-06-19T16:26:12Z 2013-06-19T16:26:12Z Christopher Rachel Kim Suk-Joong Wu Eliza http://hdl.handle.net/10453/18825 2012-10-12T03:34:56Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Do sovereign credit ratings influence regional stock and bond market interdependencies in emerging countries? Christopher Rachel; Kim Suk-Joong; Wu Eliza We investigate the permanent and transitory effects of sovereign credit ratings on time-varying stock and bond market correlations with their respective regional markets for a sample of up to nineteen emerging countries over the period from 1 January 1994 to 1 July 2007. We find that stock and bond market co-movements within a region respond heterogeneously to sovereign ratings information. Sovereign ratings and outlooks tend to be positively related to regional stock market co-movements suggesting that there are positive rating spillover effects whereby upgrades provide common benefits for neighboring countries in the region, however downgrades would lead to investors shifting funds from the downgraded market into the surrounding region. In contrast, sovereign rating and outlooks tend to be negatively related to regional bond market co-movements suggesting the existence of contagion during periods of ratings and outlook downgrades (negative rating spillover effects). We find the negative influence is concentrated in the countries that have higher foreign currency debt ratings than the regional average.

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Bateman H Eckert Christine Geweke John Louviere Jordan Satchell Stephen Thorp Susan http://hdl.handle.net/10453/18826 2012-10-12T03:34:56Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Financial competence and expectations formation: Evidence from Australia Bateman H; Eckert Christine; Geweke John; Louviere Jordan; Satchell Stephen; Thorp Susan We study the financial competence of Australian retirement savers using self-assessed and quantified measures. Responses to financial literacy questions show large variation and compare poorly with some international surveys. Basic and sophisticated financial literacy vary significantly with most demographics, self-assessed financial competence, income, superannuation accumulation and net worth. General numeracy scores are largely constant across gender, age, higher education and income. Financial competence also significantly affects expectations of stock market performance. Using a discrete choice model, we show that individuals with a higher understanding of risk, diversification and financial assets are more likely to assign a probability to future financial crises rather than expressing uncertainty.

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Johar Meliyanni Katayama H http://hdl.handle.net/10453/18828 2012-10-12T03:34:56Z 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Quantile Regression Analysis of Body Mass and Wages Johar Meliyanni; Katayama H Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, we explore the relationship between body mass and wages. We use quantile regression to provide a broad description of the relationship across the wage distribution. We also allow the relationship to vary by the degree of social skills involved in different jobs. Our results find that for female workers body mass and wages are negatively correlated at all points in their wage distribution. The strength of the relationship is larger at higher-wage levels. For male workers, the relationship is relatively constant across wage distribution but heterogeneous across ethnic groups. When controlling for the endogeneity of body mass, we find that additional body mass has a negative causal impact on the wages of white females earning more than the median wages and of white males around the median wages. Among these workers, the wage penalties are larger for those employed in jobs that require extensive social skills. These findings may suggest that labor markets reward white workers for good physical shape differently, depending on the level of wages and the type of job a worker has.

2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Norman Richard Van Gool Kees Hall Jane Delatycki M Massie John http://hdl.handle.net/10453/18827 2012-10-12T03:34:56Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Cost-effectiveness of carrier screening for cystic fibrosis in Australia Norman Richard; Van Gool Kees; Hall Jane; Delatycki M; Massie John Carrier screening for cystic fibrosis is not widely available in Australia, partly due to concerns regarding its cost-effectiveness. The benefit of information from pregnancy to pregnancy has not been widely considered in existing cost-effectiveness analyses. Methods: A decision tree was constructed estimating costs and outcomes from screening, including both initial and subsequent pregnancies. Effectiveness was expressed in terms of CF births averted. Costs were collected using a health service perspective. All costs and outcomes were discounted at 5% per annum. Results: Screening reduced the annual incidence of CF births from 34 to 14/100,000 births (an aggregate number of CF births of 100.9 and 41.9 respectively). In initial pregnancies, costs in the screening arm (A$16.6. million/100,000 births) exceed those in the non-screening arm (A$13.4. million/100,000 births). The incremental cost per CF birth in initial pregnancies is therefore approximately A$150,000. However, this was reversed for subsequent pregnancies, in that the pre-collected information reduces the incidence of CF in subsequent pregnancies at low additional costs. When aggregated, the results suggest screening is likely to be cost-saving. Conclusions: The introduction of national carrier screening for cystic fibrosis should be considered, as it is likely to reduce CF incidence at an acceptable (potentially negative) cost.

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