bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Prospects of Employee Participation in State-Owned Enterprises: Lessons from the Case of Chunghwa Telecom Company in Taiwan
Authors: Ku Chen-Yen 
Published: March 2013

AbstractOne of the major factors in building a successful system of employee participation is the involvement of unions and government. In this article, the limitations of system of employee participation in Taiwan are examined. The article begins with a brief overview of Taiwanese industrial relations. It then focuses on the development of Employee Participation in Taiwan, before exploring the impacts of privatisation on the state-owned enterprises in Taiwan, with reference to Chunghwa Telecom Company.
Substitute Trade Union or Novel Form of Labour Movement Organisation? Understanding Indonesia’s Labour NGOs
Authors: Ford Michele 
Published: March 2013

AbstractLabour non-governmental organisations’ (NGOs) role in the reconstruction of Indonesia’s organised labour movement has been widely acknowledged. They are not, however, generally recognised as a legitimate part of that movement. This paper uses the Indonesian case to demonstrate how the existing scholarly literature has failed to consider labour NGOs as a form of labour organisation in their own right because they do not fit within practitioners’ and scholars’ definitions of what is, and is not, a legitimate industrial relations actor.
Employment Outcomes of Work for the Dole: An Analysis of the DEWRSB Net Impact Report
Authors: Nevile J.W. 
Published: March 2013

AbstractSince the data necessary to make a formal quantitative analysis of Work for the Dole employment outcomes is not available to researchers who are independent of Commonwealth Government Departments, this article examines the (then) Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business (DEWRSB) net impact report, finding in it a number of weaknesses. The combined effect of these is to inflate the estimated value for net impact but a corrected estimate is still higher than many consider likely. Any figure for the net impact estimate of an Australian labour market program can only be a broad indicator. This article argues that in the case of Work for the Dole the net impact is definitely positive and by more than a trivial amount.
Health Care Spending, Family Structure and Family Health
Authors: Barrett Garry F. , Conlon Robert 
Published: March 2013

AbstractWe use data from the ABS National Health Surveys for 1989/95 and 1995 to examine differences in health care expenditures and health outcomes by family structure. We find that, on average, female single parents tend to experience poorer health outcomes, and exhibit more ‘risky’ health behaviours (particularly smoking), compared to adults in ‘two-parent’ families. Children in female single parent families tend to have more chronic health conditions than children in two-parent families. We also find that single parent families tend to spend a lower proportion of their income on health care, while receiving fewer indirect health care resources through government. Policies that may help reduce the economic and health disadvantages facing single parent families are considered.
Location and Unemployment
Authors: Bradbury Bruce , Chalmers Jenny 
Published: March 2013

AbstractAre people receiving unemployment-related income support more likely to exit from income support if they live in a stronger labour market? This paper examines this question using data from the Australian Department of Family and Community Services Longitudinal Data Set (LDS). We find that, controlling for other observed characteristics, living in an area with a one percentage point lower unemployment rate is associated with a 5 per cent increase in the probability of exit. This implies a 9 per cent decrease in the mean duration of benefit receipt. This should be considered an upper bound for the impact of regional labour market characteristics as it partly reflects the fact that people with low skill levels can only afford to live in high unemployment regions. To control for unobserved characteristics (such as skill levels) that are constant over time we look at changes in income support among people who move location. This suggests a much lower, but still significant, impact of local labour market conditions on unemployment benefit receipt.
Social Capital at Work
Authors: Stone Wendy , Gray Matthew , Hughes Jody 
Published: March 2013

AbstractA great deal of the research into the determinants of labour market outcomes has focussed on the role of human capital and the structure of the labour market. Relatively little attention has been paid to the role of social capital. This paper investigates the extent to which an individual’s social capital relates to their labour market outcomes. The relationships between social capital and labour force status and social capital and job search method are explored using data collected from a national random sample of Australians. Both a network and typology approach to measuring social capital are used.
Real Estate Speculation as a Source of Banking and Currency Instability: Some Different Lessons from the Asian Crisis
Authors: Bentick Brian L. , Lewis Mervyn K. 
Published: March 2013

AbstractA central feature of the Asian currency crisis of 1997/1998 was the vast prior capital inflow into the region, and the later rapid reversal of that movement. In seeking to explain why this outflow of capital took place and was so devastating for the countries concerned, various writers have laid blame upon a combination of connected lending, poor bank supervision, moral hazard and “crony capitalism”.Our emphasis is different. Much of the capital inflow financed a vast over-expansion of commercial real estate development. Plunging real estate values accompanied by severe difficulties in the banking and financial sector were common occurrences across the region. The argument we advance is that property plays a special role in banks’ portfolios and that large international portfolio capital flows mediated by banks will usually lead to rapidly appreciating asset prices which will result in banking/currency crises.
Examining Recent Changes in Income Distribution in Australia
Authors: Saunders Peter 
Published: March 2013

AbstractThis paper analyses recently released ABS data on the distribution of income and examines how inequality has changed since 1994–95 and since the election of the Howard Government in 1995–96. While real disposable incomes increased across the distribution, income inequality has also increased since 1994–95, particularly between 1996–97 and 1999–2000. Over the entire period from 1994–95 to 2000–01, mean income in the top quintile increased by $111 a week, more than eight times the increase of $13 a week in the lowest quintile. Since the Howard government came to office, the estimates indicate that almost half (47.3 per cent) of the total increase in disposable income was received by those in the top quintile — implying that half of the income generated by economic growth has been of no benefit to the bottom four-fifths (in income terms) of the population. Comparison with earlier research also shows that income inequality has, in some respects, increased more rapidly since the mid-1990s than during the 1980s.
Industrial Capabilities in Victoria
Authors: Leahy Anne , Loundes Joanne , Webster Elizabeth , Yong Jongsay 
Published: March 2013

AbstractThis paper presents the key findings from a small qualitative survey of the main factors associated with the creation and usage of five industrial capabilities in leading Victorian sectors. The capabilities included advanced manufacturing technologies (AMT), design, information and communications technology (ICT), biotechnology and environment technologies. Eighty-eight companies and organisations were interviewed for the study. It was found that the main requirements for the successful creation of a capability was the ability of the company to recruit and retain the best graduates from universities and technical schools, the ability to offer training to these graduates and the ability to financially support high and consistent levels of R&D over time. The main requirement for the successful use of a capability was effective company networking, work cultures conducive to excellence, supportive government regulations and the provision of complementary specialised training.
The ICT Sector, Growth and Productivity: Ireland and Australia Compared
Authors: Green Roy , Burgess John , Turner Grant 
Published: March 2013

AbstractThis article compares the productivity and employment performance of the Australian and Irish economies over the 1990s, with particular emphasis on the different approaches to the role of information and communications technologies (ICT). Whereas Australia’s performance is characterised by the application and diffusion of ICT across a number of sectors, with indirect productivity and employment effects, Ireland has become a major producer of ICT products and services in its own right. The article traces the implications of these approaches for the pattern of growth and employment in both economies and also indicates their limitations. Ireland’s approach is limited by dependence on foreign investment, embodying externally generated technologies, though this is now being addressed by a policy interest in R&D support and the development of industry clusters and networks. On the other hand, Australia faces growing and possibly unsustainable deficits in its current account, driven by imports of knowledge-intensive goods and services, notwithstanding recent improvements in the terms of trade associated with higher prices for primary commodity exports.
Retirement Incomes in New Zealand
Authors: St John Susan 
Published: March 2013

AbstractNew Zealand has a unique approach to retirement income provision. The state pension arrangements have the advantage of being very simple and easy to understand and administer. While there are numerous issues associated with the ageing of the population that may require modification to the parameters of state provision in the future, there is little political disagreement about the basic design of the state pension. In ensuring universal coverage with a flat rate taxable pension for everyone without the need for a contributions record, New Zealand has prevented elderly poverty to date. Supplementary private provision has been unsubsidised and recent debate has focused on the need to encourage more private saving particularly through work-based schemes. Nevertheless there are numerous advantages to New Zealand's tax neutral approach, which may offer lessons to reformers in other countries. With some caveats, New Zealand appears well placed to weather the increased expenditures associated with the retirement of the baby boomers.
Retirement Incomes for an Ageing Australia
Authors: Bateman Hazel 
Published: March 2013

AbstractOver the past 100 years, retirement income provision in Australia has evolved into a multi-pillar arrangement comprising the Age Pension, the Superannuation Guarantee and voluntary retirement saving. With fully funded superannuation and a public pension that is both less generous than many other countries and means tested, Australia's retirement income arrangements are well placed to cope with population ageing. However concerns remain in relation to adequacy, efficiency and the vulnerability of private provision to trends in labour, economic and financial markets.
The Role and Effectiveness of Fiscal Policy
Authors: Hart Neil 
Published: March 2013

AbstractA meaningful discussion of the role and effectiveness of fiscal policy is not possible within the context of the antiquated textbook models, which in their current and likely future form (the ‘New Neo-Classical Synthesis) have been used to endorse the deflationary bias in macroeconomic policy formulation during recent decades. This paper present a critique of the ‘mainstream’ textbook modelling of fiscal policy, and suggests a more meaningful framework in which to consider the role of fiscal policy; a framework which in particular recognises the realities of endogenous money and interest rate targeting by central banks.
The Constitution and Workplace Relations Act 1996
Authors: Williams John M. 
Published: March 2013

AbstractThe Howard Government’s industrial relations reforms represent a significant step towards a uniform system of workplace regulations. To achieve this, the Commonwealth Parliament has expressly attempted to place much of the new regime within the scope of the Commonwealth's corporations power. This article will trace the High Court’s development of the jurisprudence related to that power and argue that the central tenets of the Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Act 2005 (Cth) accords with the contemporary direction of the power.
Australian Workplace Agreements underWork Choices
Authors: van Barneveld Kristin 
Published: March 2013

AbstractThis paper details how AWAs are made under the Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Act 2005. The Work Choices amendments introduce significant changes to agreement-making. The most significant of these changes are the abolition of the no-disadvantage test, the effect of termination of agreements, and the new ‘safety net’ provided by the Fair Pay and Conditions Standard. Employers have welcomed these changes as a step closer to a system of common law regulation of the employment relationship. However, for employees, the simplification of the approval process and the removal of the vetting of Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs), may expose them to AWAs which contain low wages and very limited conditions of employment. How far down this path some employers will attempt to go is yet unknown but it is clear that for some AWA employees, there will be considerable detriment to their working conditions and entitlements.
From ‘Uncharted Seas’ to ‘Stormy Waters’: How Will Trade Unions Fare under the Work Choices Legislation?
Authors: Forsyth Anthony , Sutherland Carolyn 
Published: March 2013

AbstractThe 2005 ‘Work Choices’ legislation builds on earlier legislative and policy measures of the Howard Coalition Government that have restricted the activities and undermined the traditional legal rights of unions. This article highlights the key aspects of the 2005 legislation affecting trade unions. The constitutional basis of the new framework for regulating registered organisations is considered, as it presents unions with the challenge to revisit the validity of their registration under Federal law or to ‘opt out’ of registration altogether. The new union ‘right of entry’ provisions provide employers with far greater scope to resist or limit unwanted union influence at the workplace. Amendments to the freedom of association ‘provisions will restrict unions’ capacity to engage in a range of tactics to support the collective representation of workers’ interests, and limit their ability to block de-unionisation or individualisation strategies by employers. We conclude that the 2005 Act constitutes the most serious threat to Australian unions yet, but that the high-profile debate generated by the reforms, and the erosion of conditions which will inevitably follow for some workers, provide opportunities for unions to re-establish their relevance and reverse declining membership levels.
The Welfare Expenditure Debate: ‘Economic Myths of the Left and the Right’ Revisited
Authors: Whiteford Peter 
Published: March 2013

AbstractJust over 20 years ago, Fred Gruen (1982) reviewed debates about the level of welfare expenditure in Australia, noting them as being motivated on the one hand by the view that ‘more is better’, and on the other hand by the view that ‘too much’ is dangerous. Despite Gruen's debunking of many assertions about the Australian welfare state, the debate continues, with arguments on the one hand, that Australian welfare state spending is ‘mean’ compared to other countries, and on the other hand, that Australia has a significant problem of welfare dependency and increasing welfare spending. This paper presents the results of recent OECD studies that provide the most-up-to-date comparative information on the relative performance of Australian welfare arrangements. The paper looks at: (i) the trends in the level of social expenditure in Australia compared to other OECD countries, and explanations for differences across countries; (ii) the level of benefit receipt among people of working age; (iii) the impact of social expenditure on income distribution; and (iv) the relative generosity of benefits and implications for incentives. The paper concludes with a discussion of the policy conclusions that might be drawn from these comparisons.
The Association between Health and Education in Australia: Indigenous/non-Indigenous Comparisons
Authors: Biddle Nicholas 
Published: March 2013

AbstractRelative to the rest of the population, Indigenous Australians are disadvantaged across a number of outcomes. Not only is income lower, but so is life expectancy. Furthermore, the incidence of a number of chronic conditions is much higher (especially after controlling for the younger age profile). There are a number of interrelated historic, social and economic reasons for these poorer outcomes, but one important factor is likely to be substantially lower education levels. That is, Indigenous Australians are much less likely to finish high school, and for those that do, less likely go on to university or other studies. This paper looks in an empirical way at the relationship between education and health for Indigenous Australians, comparing it to similar associations for the non-Indigenous population. Using probit model estimates on data from the 2001 National Health Survey, two traditional health outcomes (self-assessed health and chronic conditions) as well as a set of health risk-factors are examined. For all health measures used, those with lower education levels have significantly worse health outcomes. Interestingly, education is found to have a significantly different magnitude of association for some measures across Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
Job Insecurity and Mental Health Outcomes: An Analysis Using Waves 1 and 2 of HILDA
Authors: Adam Marc L. , Flatau Paul 
Published: March 2013

AbstractThe issue of job insecurity and its impact on employee's sense of well-being remains an under-researched topic. The objective of this paper is to utilise the HILDA dataset to show how job insecurity impacts on mental health outcomes. An important feature of the HILDA survey is that it enables an examination of the relationship between the level of job insecurity and mental health outcomes at a given point in time as well as how changes over time in job insecurity impact on mental health outcomes for the employed. The results suggest that a strong and significant relationship exists between job insecurity and employee mental health outcomes.
Child Labour and Employment Relations Legislation in India
Authors: Kazi Ashraf U. 
Published: March 2013

AbstractThe global trend towards the removal of child labour began in the nineteenth century and continues into the twenty-first century, yet estimates of children working in India range up to 100 million. Though the Indian government prohibits employment of children in factories, there is no law to prohibit employment of children in family households, cottage industries and family owned agricultural fields or family businesses, and large numbers of children miss school to look after cattle, collect firewood or work infields, restaurants or quarries. The framers of the Constitution of India were aware of their responsibility towards children and a number of provisions were made to protect children. This article focuses on legislation since 1938, prohibiting the labour of children aged below fifteen years. Defects in the legislation and weak enforcement machinery have meant that children working in family-owned industries and agricultural fields continue to escape attention. The small earning of a child have been seen as a means of survival for a large number of families in India. The article is primarily a historical piece, tracing this regulatory failure through five decades of independence and freedom in which lives of children, born free but bonded for life in the largest democracy in the world. This paper will provide the basis for assessing the degree of change for children, as India becomes one of the world's fastest growing economies.
If Corporate Governance is the Answer, What is the Question? The Illusory Relation between Structural Solutions and Japanese Deflation
Authors: Freedman Craig , Blair Alex 
Published: March 2013

AbstractPolicy by assertion is an all too common temptation amongst economic analysts. Plausible stories substitute for closely developed economic theory backed by convincing empirical evidence. In the case of Japan, an extended period of deflation attracted numerous proposed policy responses. Structural explanations, typified by those relating to corporate governance, appear to be uncontroversial. On closer examination however, the causative mechanisms and actual evidence turn out to be seriously lacking. Instead, a collection of individually desirable objectives are bundled together to present an appearance, rather than a reality, of cause and effect. The result is a set of obvious solutions, but the associated policies remain largely dependent on assertion for their authority.
Researching Workplace Learning and Class
Authors: Boughton Bob 
Published: March 2013

AbstractMuch more is learned in the workplace than efficient skills. We have rather few concepts with which to theorise the ‘counter-cultural’ nature of much workplace learning. In leading off four articles that address this gap, this introduction dips into Australian labour history to open a discussion aimed at making visible some of the other learning that occurs at work. It asks why most workplace learning researchers have not acknowledged or extended such learning, and suggests that changing working conditions within universities may change this.
Organisational Learning: How Organising Changes Education in Trade Unions
Authors: Brown Tony 
Published: March 2013

AbstractAustralian trade unions in the 1980s and 1990s sought to influence and guide the restructuring of vocational and workplace education policy, to widen participation in education and training, and establish partnership arrangements with government and business in order to promote international competitiveness. Since the mid 1990s, however, the changed contours of the labour market, and a steady decline in both the numbers of union members and density rates, accompanied by legislative attacks on the right to organise, led many unions to shift their emphasis to organising new members. Education was identified as a critical factor in preparing unions to undertake this new effort and as a means of changing union culture. This article studies the changes in union education that flowed from one union’s new concentration on developing capacity for organising for growth, and examines the new ways of knowing that resulted among officers and activists.
The Impact of Children on Australian Women’s and Men’s Superannuation
Authors: Parr Nick , Ferris Shauna , Mahuteau Stéphane 
Published: March 2013

AbstractUsing data from Wave 2 of the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, this article examines how superannuation savings by women and men vary according to the numbers of children they have. The results show that for women there is a clear inverse relationship between the value of superannuation and the number of their children. Moreover, this inverse relationship persists after controlling for an extensive range of variables which may affect both number of children and superannuation. The analysis also shows that level of education, migrant status, being an employer or self-employed, marital status, age and sex are significantly related to an individual’s level of superannuation. The implications of the results for Australia’s public debate and possible policy responses are discussed.