bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
THE MANAGEMENT OF ANTERIOR ABDOMINAL STAB WOUNDS IN AUSTRALASIA
Authors: Cameron Peter , Civil Ian 
Published: January 2008

Background:The low incidence of stab wounds in Australasia has led to a more operative approach for the management of anterior abdominal stab wounds. A survey of Australasian surgeons interested in trauma was undertaken to analyse current practice.Methods:Ninety‐seven early management of severe trauma surgical instructors (known as ATLS® in Australasia) were surveyed using a four‐part, single‐page questionnaire.Results:Sixty‐five instructors completed the survey. Thirty‐nine instructors stated that they would admit patients with stab wounds even if the wound appeared superficial or ‘skin only’. For 14 surgeons the decision to perform a laparotomy was dependent on fascial penetration and for 17 the decision depended upon peritoneal penetration. Six felt that all but the most superficial wounds should have a laparotomy. Laparoscopy, diagnostic peritoneal lavage and other investigations were also thought to be helpful. Thirteen surgeons felt that the presence of peritonism or tenderness were the most important determinants. There was no hospital protocol for 44 respondents and there was a wide variation in individual approach to this problem. However, all agreed that peritonism and haemodynamic instability were indications for immediate laparotomy.Conclusions:There is still a low threshold for laparotomy in Australasia and this approach is not without risks. However, the alternative of using serial observation should be regarded as an active form of management and protocols must be established to ensure regular repeat examinations by experienced personnel. The low incidence of abdominal stab wounds in Australasia makes this approach difficult. A safe approach for the Australasian situation is described.
AMPUTATION THROUGH THE AGES: THE OLDEST MAJOR SURGICAL OPERATION
Authors: Magee Reginald 
Published: January 2008

Amputation has been practised since neolithic times for punitive, therapeutic and ritualistic reasons. Until the development and adoption of general anaesthesia, it was the most major operation to which a surgeon could aspire and a speedy technique was essential. Many famous names have been associated with this operation in both military and civilian surgery.amputation,surgical history.
Labour Markets form the Microeconomic perspective: Implicit Contract Theory
Authors: Sloan Judith , Wooden Mark 
Published: January 2008

AbstractThis paper deals with a recent development in labour economics ‐ that of implicit contract theory. A major impetus to its development has been the existence of involuntary unemployment and wage rigidity. In reality, there have been two streams of development ‐ one associated with the name of Okun which focusses on the fixed costs of employing labour and the importance of reputation for reliability on the part of employers. The other emphasises differences in risk‐aversion between employers and workers, viewing the implicit contract as a form of risk shifting. Both theories provide insights into the workings of labour markets, in particular, the pervasiveness of long‐term employment relations. although difficulties arise in terms of the enforceability of contracts. The broader literature on internal labour markets in useful in this context.
The Money Supply in Australia: Prospects for 1984‐85
Authors: Lim G.C. 
Published: January 2008

AbstractThe monitoring and control of the growth of monetary aggregates is an important aspect of monetary policy. The purpose of this article is to assess the likely growth of the money supply for 1984‐85. We conclude that the monetary policy of keeping M3 growth within the 8–10 per cent range is attainable and that this can be achieved through the use of open‐market operations without creating undue pressure on interest rates.
Continuity and Change: Labour Market Programs and Education Expenditure
Authors: Chapman Bruce 
Published: January 2008

AbstractSince 1971 Australian governments have varied expenditure on labour market programs and education. This article attempts to explain these changes in the context of several straightforward hypotheses concerned with political processes. In both policy areas the evidence is generally consistent with four views: that ALP governments spend relatively more than coalition governments; that ALP expenditure is more likely to be directed to the public sector, and coalition expenditure to the private sector; that governments of both political persuasions tend to move towards their opponents' position in budgets immediately preceding elections; and that, after the marked changes initiated in the 1972 to 1974 period, the parties have become increasingly similar in expenditure terms. Apparently there have been important differences between the political parties in government, but these distinctions have become less clear–cut over recent years.
Policy Analysis Using a Computable General Equilibrium Model: A Review of Experience at the IMPACT Project
Authors: Parmenter B. R. , Meagher G. A. 
Published: January 2008

AbstractOriginally presented at the Fourth International Symposium on Forecasting, London, July 1984, this article reviews the role in policy analysis of the ORANI model of the Australian economy. A schematic description of the model is given. Conceptual issues concerning the use of such models for counterfactual policy analysis and for explicit forecasting are canvassed. A taxonomy is presented of policy applications of ORANI classifying both the policy issues addressed and the range of information obtained from the applications. Details of selected applications are discussed with the aim of illustrating the main themes which arise in policy studies conducted using the model.
Structure and Design of the Fringe Benefits Tax
Authors: Marks Bernard 
Published: January 2008

AbstractThe aim of this article is to provide an introduction for economists to the legal structure of the fringe benefits tax legislation. The article is not concerned with the analysis of the provisions of the legislation, but, rather with the design rules employed by the drafters in implementing the Government's policy to impose a tax on employers on non‐cash fringe benefits provided to employees.
FBT: How to Structure Remuneration Packages for 1986–87
Authors: Martini Christine , Collins Brett , Rickard John 
Published: January 2008

AbstractThe purpose of this article is to determine the optimal structure of remuneration packages in the new fringe benefits tax (FBT) environment. We will describe precisely how the optimal structure of remuneration packages depends upon the (marginal) rates of FBT, personal income tax and corporate tax. The fundamental decision rule for employers and employees to optimise the value of remuneration packages is quite simple. First substitute the FBT rate, f, and the employer's marginal tax rate, t, into I = f(1 + f ‐ t)‐1. Then if the employee's marginal tax rate i is greater than I the employer should provide any benefits until i falls to the value I. At or below this point the employee would be better off to provide all subsequent benefits.
The J‐Curve
Authors: Arndt H. W. , Dorrance G. 
Published: January 2008

AbstractIf a country with a balance of payments problem, that is, insufficient foreign exchange receipts to meet foreign exchange requirements, seeks to remedy the situation by currency devaluation, things may get worse before they get better. This so‐called J‐curve effect occurs if the domestic‐currency prices of exports are sticky, whether because they are cost based or subject to longer term contracts, so that export prices in foreign currency fall. Until favourable volume effects outweigh the unfavourable price effect, the balance of payments deteriorates. Such a J‐curve effect should be distinguished both from the longer term erosion of the beneficial effects of devaluation as domestic costs and the prices of non‐tradables rise and from the apparent J‐curve due to the ‘valuation effect’. If the current account is in deficit before devaluation, as will usually be the case, devaluation will widen the deficit in domestic currency because domestic‐currency imports rise by a larger amount than exports. This is a pure valuation effect, of no significance for external balance. But it is liable to lead to unduly pessimistic judgements about the effectiveness of devaluation. In Australia during 1985–86, the current account deficit increased by $A3.5 billion, despite substantial depreciation of the $A. The main reason was a sharp deterioration in the terms of trade which is estimated to have worsened the current account by $A4.25 billion. Most of this was exogenous, though J‐curve effects may have made a contribution. In addition, the valuation effect contributed a further, illusory, widening of the deficit, valued in domestic currency, by over $A1 billion. To avoid misleading inferences from the valuation effect, it is suggested that the balance of payments should, if possible, be presented in foreign currency.
A Spectral Analysis of Australia's Leading and Coincident Indexes of Cyclical Economic Growth
Authors: Layton Allan P. 
Published: January 2008

AbstractUsing the methodology of the National Bureau of Economic Research, Boehm and Moore (1984) have recently constructed leading and coincident indexes of Australian cyclical economic growth. The present article examines the reliability of the leading index by investigating the coherence between these two measures of economic activity at different cycle‐lengths using the technique of cross‐spectral analysis.
An Analysis of the Effects of Recent Changes in the Exchange Rate and the Terms of Trade on the Level and Composition of Economic Activity
Authors: Fallon John , Thompson Lynne 
Published: January 2008

AbstractOver the eighteen‐month period ending June 1986, the Australian economy experienced two major shocks: a nominal devaluation of the $A of some 28 per cent and a terms of trade decline of some 16 per cent. The effects of these influences are examined using the ORANI model of the Australian economy. The effects of the devaluation on selected macroeconomic variables and key sectoral variables are presented for various degrees of wage indexation. Effects on quota rents are calculated and compared with actual outcomes. The terms of trade decline has an adverse impact on the balance of trade and in order to offset this impact while maintaining aggregate employment demand the model calculates that both real wages and real absorption would need to be around 4 per cent less than the values they would otherwise take.
The Performance of Exchange Rate Forecasts
Authors: Lowe Philip W. , Trevor Robert G. 
Published: January 2008

AbstractSince the floating of the Australian dollar the forecasting of exchange rate movements has become more difficult and received much more attention. As a result, some participants in the foreign exchange market have, on a number of occasions, come under criticism for their inability to predict exchange rate movements. This article seeks to evaluate these criticisms through an examination of exchange rate forecasts made by market participants (as published in the Australian Financial Review from March 1985 to December 1985). The accuracy of the $A/US$ forecasts is compared with that of forecasts generated from a number of simple forecasting rules as well as forecasts of the US$/Yen exchange rate. In general, the simple forecasting rules provide superior forecasts to those provided by the individual market participants. However, under some criteria, the mean of the individual participants' forecasts may be preferred to these simple forecasting rules. Further, the comparison of the US$/Yen forecasts with the $A/US$ forecasts shows the former to be generally more accurate.
The Distribution of Wealth: What Is It, What Does It Mean, and Is It Important?
Authors: Piggott John 
Published: January 2008

AbstractThis paper summarises the available evidence on the present‐day distribution of wealth in Australia, and draws comparison with international evidence. With this as background, I argue that an initiative to collect more up‐to‐date information on Australia's wealth distribution would be most useful if it focused on the least wealthy 90 to 95 per cent of the population, even though this group probably owns not more than half the nation's wealth.
Structural Reform, Macro Policies and Income Distribution
Authors: Agrawal Nisha , Meagher G. A. 
Published: January 2008

AbstractSince the mid‐1980s, Australia has been under considerable pressure to restructure its economy. This restructuring has been necessitated by the need to generate surpluses in its external trade account in order to meet the growing interest payments on its foreign debt. To facilitate this process of restructuring, the Commonwealth Government initially used two macro policies that have the desired structural effects: ‘wage moderation’ and ‘fiscal management’. In this paper, we examine the distributional effects of these policies. The analysis depends on simulations using an extended version of the ORANI model of the Australian economy, taken in conjunction with unit record data from an updated version of the 1981–82 Income and Housing Survey database.
The Development of Government Policies on Poverty and Income Distribution
Authors: Edwards Meredith , Whiteford Peter 
Published: January 2008

AbstractThis paper discusses trends in poverty in Australia over the last two decades, as indicated by changes in the number and composition of income units with incomes below the Henderson poverty line as well as by trends in the circumstances of the population in receipt of social security payments. This analysis suggests that there have been significant changes in the nature of poverty in Australia, which has increased among those of workforce age. Families with children have been particularly affected by these developments. The paper describes the development of policies designed to achieve the government's pledge that by 1990 no child need live in poverty. Despite the usefulness of the Henderson poverty line in identifying trends in economic vulnerability, the paper identifies a number of practical objections to using this indicator to assess the total effect of government initiatives. The paper concludes with a discussion of a broad approach to poverty alleviation, which would include income support, labour market and community services policies.
Sources of Inequality Between Male and Female Wages in Australia
Authors: Agrawal Nisha 
Published: January 2008

AbstractThis article examines the influence of labour force status, full‐time/part‐time employment status, educational qualifications, work experience, and occupation as sources of inequality between male and female wages in Australia. A decomposition method is used to identify the effect of these factors on male/ female inequality. This strategy involves successively removing persons who differ with respect to each of these factors from the population under study and then decomposing the inequality in the remaining sub‐population into inequality within each sex and inequality between the sexes. This decomposition is done using the I0 inequality index proposed by Theil (1967). The study is based on unit record data from the 1981–82 Income and Housing Survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. It finds that a significant proportion of the inequality between the wages of the sexes can be explained by their differences with respect to the factors listed above.
Measuring Exchange Rate Uncertainty: The Case of the Australian Dollar 1969 to 1987
Authors: Avenell Simon , Leeson Robert , Wood Gavin 
Published: January 2008

AbstractIn this article indices of exchange rate uncertainty are measured from the perspective of potential impacts on trade flows. Empirical evidence based on movements in the Australian dollar spot rates and forward rates indicates that there has been an increase in currency risk between 1969 and 1987, which is not surprising given the progressive relaxation of the exchange rate regime during this period. More surprising is the finding that exchange rate uncertainty indices have risen relative to domestic financial price uncertainty indices. This would not have been expected to occur if increased currency risk had been solely due to growing instability of the underlying economic environment. However, since there is evidence that currency risk has been offset by domestic risk, the risk burden of diversified international traders may not have been adversely affected.
Pricing for Capacity Utilisation with Public Enterprises
Authors: Mayo Wayne 
Published: January 2008

AbstractPricing Individual services provided by public busines enterprises so that the use of available capacity is, where possible, maximised during peak as well as slack demand periods will for many enterprises correspond closely to ideal marginal cost pricing. Such a pricing strategy will usually result in excess profits when the level of capacity is deficient and in losses when capacity is excessive. Optimal long‐run capacity can thus be sought under this pricing strategy by increasing or reducing capacity over time with a view to achieving normal profits or a target rate of return. In the short run, before capacity can be changed, enterprise profits are driven by the pricing strategy, not by the target rate of return. For enterprises with large lumpy investments it is particularly important for the rate of return objective to be achieved over several years, allowing for reduced returns when new lumpy capacity is first introduced. For enterprises whose services involve significantly increasing congestion costs before full capacity is reached, pricing to achieve something less than full capacity utilisation is required but technological advancement is reducing the relevance of this complication.
The Macroeconomic Consequences of Long‐Term Unemployment
Authors: Flatau Paul , Lewis Philip E. T. , Rushton Allison 
Published: January 2008

AbstractThis article examines the linkages between long‐term unemployment and two important recent debates in Australia: first, whether unemployment exhibits hysteresis tendencies; second, the nature of the relationship between unemployment and real wages. Our findings favour the hysteresis account in that the evidence rejects an equilibrium relationship between long‐term and total unemployment. Also, the effect on real wages of an increase in the number of longterm unemployed is found to be both positive and significant.
The Macroeconomic Outlook
Authors: Murphy C. W. 
Published: January 2008

This quarterly two‐year forecast from the Access Economics Murphy (AEM) model updates that presented in the corresponding article in the 4th quarter 1991 issue of the Australian Economic Review.As predicted in the previous forecast, the economy entered a slow recovery in the December quarter of 1991. Steady growth averaging close to 1 per cent per quarter is likely during 1992–93 and 1993–94.Unemployment may peak at around 10 3/4 per cent in mid‐1992, before slowly falling to a year‐average level of around 9 per cent in 1993–94.Under the influence of the recent recession, CPI inflation is likely to be around 2 per cent per annum on a year‐on‐year basis for both 1991–92 and 1992–93. With economic recovery, it is forecast to rise to 4.5 per cent per annum in 1993–94.While the recession has helped bring the current account deficit down from near 6 per cent of GDP in 1989–90 to around 3 per cent for 1991–92, it will rise with economic recovery, and is forecast to exceed 5 per cent of GDP by 1993–94, compared with a sustainable level of 3 to 3 1/2 per cent.The economic recovery is not proving to be as strong as forecast in One Nation.However, there is a recovery clearly underway, and any further easing of monetary and fiscal policy risks prejudicing a substantial part of the recent impressive gains on inflation and creates a major medium‐term problem for public finances.
The Macroeconomic Outlook
Authors: Murphy Chris 
Published: January 2008

This two‐year quarterly forecast from the Access Economics Murphy (AEM) model updates that presented in the 2nd quarter 1992 issue of the Australian Economic Review.The economic recovery is patchy, with only public final demand and housing investment moving forward decisively, but could broaden in 1993, if private business fixed investment begins increasing. It has fallen by a recession‐inducing one‐third since the middle of 1989.GDP growth could rise from a mediocre 2.4 per cent in 1992–93 to a strong 4.3 per cent in 1993–94.Unemployment may remain around 11 per cent for the remainder of 1992–93, before falling to a year‐average level of about 10 per cent in 1993–94.CPI inflation under 2 per cent per annum on a year‐on‐year basis is likely in 1992–93 but, with economic recovery and the flow‐through effects of the depreciation, it is forecast to rise to 4 per cent per annum in 1993–94. The current account deficit is rising with economic recovery, and by 1993‐94 could be 5 per cent of GDP, compared with a sustainable level of 3 to 3.5 per cent.An assessment of the accuracy of the AEM model and government official economic growth forecasts in the recession years of 1990–91 to 1992–93 was conducted, using the forecasts from the Business Review Weekly's panel as a reference point. The high accuracy ranking of the AEM forecasts is consistent with international evidence that the most accurate forecasts are model‐based with judgmental adjustments. The official forecasts met international standards of accuracy from 1978–79 to 1989–90, and the recent fall in their performance is puzzling.
The Macroeconomic Requirements for Prosperity
Authors: Parkin Michael 
Published: January 2008

AbstractThis article presents a macroeconomic manifesto for prosperity. The main macroeconomic obstacles to prosperity are rent‐seeking and policy variability and uncertainty. The main proposals for overcoming these obstacles are the creation of three new independent and publicly accountable economic policy institutions: an Independent Monetary Authority, a National Externalities Board, and an Economic Policy Audit Authority. Working with parliament, these institutions would provide an incentive system of checks and balances in which the principles of free trade, price stability, and policy stability would moderate rent‐seeking and provide an environment in which markets could function to deliver a high level of prosperity. A related proposal is the replacement of all existing taxes with just two taxes: a flat rate Consumption Tax to cover government purchases; and a National Dividend Tax to pay for a fixed benefit to all, the rate of which would be determined by a novel method of direct democracy.
Australian Student Loans
Authors: Chapman Bruce J. , Harding Ann 
Published: January 2008

AbstractThe Australian Government introduced the so‐called ‘AUSTUDY Supplement’ in the 1992–93 budget. The scheme gives AUSTUDY recipients the option of trading in up to $2000 per year of their grant for $4000 of an income‐contingent loan, to be paid back according to the current HECS arrangements, implying that the Government is acting as an insurer against future default by students. This article addresses the theoretical basis of the scheme, and explores two related questions: will it be in the financial interests of average students to take up the option? and what is likely to be the take‐up rate of loans? Through the use of both cross‐sectional data and the HARDING microsimulation model it is demonstrated that for many students the loan option will result in financial advantages, and that the take‐up rate is likely eventually to be high.