2006 Seminar Series
Each presenters' abstract is listed below seminar dates
Seminar Abstracts
| Date | Speaker/Topic |
|---|---|
| 26 October 2006 4:00–5:00 PM in LT5 | Heidi RodgersPhd student, School of Economics The Economics of Improvements in Meat Quality |
| 16 October 2006 4:00–5:00 PM in LT5 | Phanin KurethaiPhd student, School of Economics Performance of Housewife Groups of Food Manufacturers in the North of Thailand |
| 5 October 2006 4:00–5:00 PM in LT5 | Karl BehrendtPhd student, School of Economics A dynamic pasture resource development framework for sheep meat and wool production system |
| 7 September 2006 4:00–5:00 PM in LT5 | Geoff Johnston presenting the 2006 Jack Makeham Memorial LectureWhat are our Freshers doing? |
| 31 August 2006 4:00–5:00 PM in LT5 | Stuart MounterPhD student, School of Economics Evaluating Research and Development Investments in the Australian Sheep Meat and Wool Industries |
| 24 August 2006 4:00–5:00 PM in LT5 | Chris HarbingerPhD student, School of Economics Nominal exchange rate neutrality for Australia: a Structural Vector Autoregression approach |
| 17 August 2006 4:00–5:00 PM in LT5 | Alexandr AkimovPhD student, School of Economics Financial Development and Economic Growth: Evidence from Countries in Transition |
| 11 August 2006 4:00–5:00 PM in LT5 | Professor James RichardsonRegents Professor of Agricultural Economics, TAES Senior Faculty Fellow and also Co-Director of the Agricultural and Food Policy Centre in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas University A & M. Using Simetar, a Stochastic Simulation Package |
| 10 August 2006 4:00–5:00 PM in LT5 | Joel ByrnesPhD student, School of Economics Urban Water Provision in Regional NSW and Victoria |
| 3 August 2006 4:00–5:00 PM in LT5 | Dr George BatteseHonorary Fellow, School of Economics The Impact of Agricultural Loans on the Technical Efficiency of Rice Farmers in the Upper North of Thailand |
| 12 July 2006 4:00–5:00 PM in LT5 | William HaganProfessor, University of California Reading the Scripts of Modern Ethnic Violence: A View from Central Europe |
| 13 July 2006 4:00–5:00 PM in LT5 | Tom LeesPhD student, School of Economics Traceability in the Australian wheat supply chain |
| 1 June 2006 4:00–5:00 PM (LT5) | Bryan PapeSenior Lecturer, School of Law A Conversation with Ronald Coase, Interviewed by Richard Epstein |
| 25 May 2006 4:00–5:00 PM in LT5 | Oscar CachoAssociate Professor, School of Economics Transaction Costs in the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol: the influence of project design |
| 18 May 2006 4:00–5:00 PM in LT5 | Terence FarrellLecturer, School of Economics A Hedonic Model of Correlated Sensory Attributes of Retail Beef Cuts |
| 17 May 2006 4:00–5:00 PM in LT5 | Hussain Mohammed NurMasters of Economics student, School of Economics An Analysis of the Impacts of Trade Liberalisation on Exports and Imports in Bangladesh |
| 11 May 2006 4:00–5:00 PM in LT5 | Malcolm TreadgoldProfessor, School of Economics Factors inhibiting deflationary bias in currency board economies: evidence from the colonial era |
| 5 May 2006 4:00–5:00 PM in LT5 | John Spriggs and Barbara ChamberProfessors, Australian Institute for Sustainable Communities, University of Canberra Marketing, Institutions And Action Research: The Case of Fresh Produce from the Highlands of PNG |
| 6 April 2006 4:00–5:00 PM (LT5) | Albert HapuarachilageLecturer, School of Economics Monetary Policies and Macroeconomic Impacts: An SVAR Model Approach for the Case of Sri Lanka |
| 30 March 2006 4:00–5:00 PM John Dillon Lecture Theatre | John L Dillon Memorial Lecture 2006–Jock R AndersonEmertius Professor, School of Economics and International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC Shades of John L. Dillon's 1984 Grace Lecture, University of Alberta, 'Technology versus Hunger: Problems and Prospects'*; Reflections Two Decades On |
| 16 March 2006 4:00–5:00 PM in LT5 | Paul MartinProfessor and Director of the Australian Centre for Agriculture and Law and Associate Dean, Research in the Faculty of Economics, Business and Law Research Issues and Direction in EBL |
| 9 March 2006 4:00–5:00 PM in LT5 | Roley PiggottProfessor and Dean, Faculty of Economics, Business and Law Agricultural R and D in the Developing World: Too little, Too late? |
| 2 March 2006 4:00–5:00 PM in LT5 | Oscar CachoAssociate Professor, School of Economics Evaluating the feasibility of eradicating invasive populations |
Heidi Rodgers
Eating quality is one the key determinants of consumer demand for beef, out-weighing even price as the most important consideration when buying beef (Millward Brown, 2003). Since Meat Standards Australia (MSA)'s inception in 1999/2000, substantial improvements in beef quality, as measured by the system, have been identified. However, improvement issues have, for the most part, been valued scientifically rather than in an economic framework. An economic evaluation that incorporates interactions up and down the supply chain and across different categories of demand is fundamental to exploring the MSA system as a feedback mechanism to promote integration, information sharing, and thus, profitability and sustainability of all beef supply chain sectors. The identification of economic signals for live animal, carcass and eating quality traits which flow consistently to, and may be translated into action by, the various industry segments will give rise to the development of value-based marketing and vertical integration, the promotion of which will assist in improved efficiencies and adoption of technology.Phanin Kurethai
The food industry in Thailand encompasses various types of food manufacturers. Local producers engage in many kinds of manufacturing processes of so-called "cottage foods". The cottage food processing industry is in general a community enterprise operated by local groups. The housewives groups are a prominent type of local group who produce cottage foods. They suffer from various weaknesses and encounter threats in operating their businesses. Firstly, each group produces independently on a small scale, experiencing diseconomies of small scale. Next, they lack knowledge about input supply and marketing information. In addition, the housewives groups have more weaknesses and limitations than large-sized enterprises in terms of lack of business scope, an absence of collective efficiency due to the product mix, and lack of access to information. These disadvantages have led to the conceptualization of strategic groups and increased technical efficiency as a potential solution for business vigour of housewives groups. The focus of this study is on the insights to be gained from analyzing housewives groups from the viewpoint of technical efficiency. Technical efficiency is used as a performance measure to study the effects of links with strategic groups and a set of factors relating to their structure and characteristics on the food manufacturing performance of housewives groups.Karl Behrendt
Since the inception of agriculture in Australia, cyclical prices for commodities, stochastic climatic conditions and continually declining terms of trade have been instrumental in shaping the utilisation, development and degradation of soil and pasture resources . This interaction results in a pasture resource that, both over the short and long term, is dynamic in nature . The ongoing development and management of pasture resources, which provide the cheapest feed source for ruminants, is paramount to maintaining sustainable, productive and profitable sheep and wool production systems. Three technologies that can be adopted to develop the pasture resource are the sowing of more productive species, application of fertiliser, and grazing management (subdivision). These factors, both individually and in combination, influence the botanical composition of the pasture resource over time. A framework has been designed to improve farm decision making under risk where there are interacting technologies in a dynamic environment. The framework combines both simulation and mathematical programming techniques to study the profitability and sustainability of the three technologies described above for the development of the pasture resource in sheep and wool production systems. The framework is unique in that it takes into account the impact of climate risk, technology adoption and management on the botanical composition of the pasture resource over time, which in turn impacts on identifying optimal farm development strategies. The agronomic components of the framework (pasture establishment and growth of different species groups) are represented through simulations of a range of technology and management combinations. The decision support tool, Farmwise is used to generate data and derive functions and parameters which describe botanical composition change, pasture establishment and growth in response to climate and utilisation by livestock. After comparing model predictions with relevant experimental data on botanical composition, the model outputs are then used as inputs for a whole farm decision making model. The purpose is to identify risk efficient sets of development strategies that optimise the use of a case-study farm's resources. The whole-farm bioeconomic model incorporates pasture growth and botanical composition submodels which interact with grazing and economic submodels. The biophysical components of the model operate on a daily time step whereas the strategic decisions, regarding pasture resource development and its utilisation are made at an annual time step. Commodity price and climate risk are embedded in decisions that determine the optimal investment levels in the replacement of degraded pastures, subdivision and the application of fertiliser. Risk-efficient frontiers are used to identify the optimal combinations of technology adoption and management strategies from which a producer may choose the level of profit and risk they are willing to accept in the development of the pasture resource.2006 Jack Makeham Memorial Lecture
This is a case study of study attitudes and habits of the students in a residential college. It covers: •The changing trend in UAIs •The most challenging and the best subjects being studied in semester 1 • What they think of the lecturers, the courses, their faults. •What is happening to their attendance at lectures and tutorials and why. •The perceived problem with assignments.• Their study habits or lack of them. •Their exam resultsMr Stuart Mounter
Successful research and development (R&D) investments allow for the creation and adoption of new technologies that lead to increases in productivity. In the Australian sheep meat and wool industries, R&D investments are funded by the government and the private sector, with producer contributions generated from levies on wool and livestock sales. Knowledge about the size and distribution of returns from alternative broad types of research investments permit strategic level decisions to be made about resource allocation within and across different research programs. The Australian sheep meat and wool industries are characterised by strong-cross commodity relationships, so a research-induced innovation in one industry will have spill-over and feedback effects to and from the other industries. An equilibrium displacement model of the Australian sheep meat and wool industries was developed to account for the close cross commodity relationships that exist between these industries.Chris Harbinger
Nominal exchange rate neutrality is where changes in the nominal exchange rate do not result in lasting changes in real Gross Domestic Product. Four variations of a 7-variable Structural Vector Autoregression models are estimated to examined the impact of the nominal exchange rate on real GDP for Australia for the period 1984-2003. Both the USD/AUD bilateral exchange rate and the nominal effective exchange rate (ie the trade-weighted index) are tested as alternatives. Results of the estimation provide support for neutrality, with the nominal exchange rate having only minimal and temporary influence on real GDP, with real US GDP the greatest influence on Australian real GDP.Mr Alexandr Akimov
The argument that financial development promotes economic growth is largely supported by empirical evidence from developed and developing countries. No such positive evidence so far being found from studies of economies in transition. This paper analyses the effects of financial intermediation on the growth of real GDP by employing data for 27 countries over the period of 1989-2004. Using endogenous growth model and panel data analysis technique we estimate regressions with various proxies of financial sector development. Im, Pesaran and Shin panel unit-root test is employed to test stability of the variables. We find (i) that tertiary educational institutions enrolment is better proxy for human capital development in post-communist countries than popular secondary-school enrolment; (ii) that in contrast to some recent studies of developed and developing economies, the outcomes for transitional economies depend on the choice of the proxy for financial development. In the regressions where proxies more emphasise “institutional” development of financial intermediaries we find robust positive link between financial development and economic growth. In contrast, if financial development is represented by liquid liability measure the results are inconclusive.Professor James Richardson
Professor Richardson will give a presentation on Simetar©, a stochastic simulation add-in to Excel, which has been found to be generally superior to @Risk with much broader capabilities in that all functions are dynamic. The more than 250 User Defined functions in Simetar© can be categorized into six groups: (1) simulating random variables, (2) statistical analyses and tests, (3) graphical analysis, (4) ranking risky alternatives, (5) data manipulation and analysis, (6) econometric modelling, and (7) forecasting. Simetar© can be used to perform all of the steps for developing, simulating, and applying a stochastic model, namely: estimate parameters for random variables, simulate stochastic variables, test the validity of the random variables, present the results graphically, and rank risky alternatives. In order to fully demonstrate the capabilities of Simetar© anyone attending should bring a laptop if possible with the trial version of Simetar© installed- log onto www.simetar.com for a download on a 30 day trial basis.Joel Byrnes
Most of Australia's capital cities currently have varying degrees of residential water restrictions in place. The Qld regional town of Toowoomba recently considered the controversial issue of recycled wastewater as a potential source of potable water. Many NSW regional towns, on both sides of the Great Dividing Range, have endured water restrictions for a number of years. This has lead some to the conclusion that Australia faces a "water crisis". Regardless of whether this statement is defensible, both the source and use of potable water are likely to remain on the urban water agenda for some time yet. Behind the dramatic headlines lies a distinct regulatory structure governing the administration of potable water in Australia. In NSW, outside of Sydney, Gosford and the Illawarra, local government is largely responsible for the treatment of potable water and sewerage. In contrast, Victoria did away with local government involvement in the 1990s, entrusting the provision of this service to state government appointed Regional Water Authorities. As Australia deals with its perceived "water crisis" we ask whether institutional structure has any bearing on the extent to which water authorities are able to deliver their services both in compliance with various environmental regulations and in an economically efficient manner. This seminar provides a brief background to the issue, sheds light on what others have found, and outlines a three-stage Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model that will be employed to test the proposition. We will also present 1st stage DEA results."Dr George Battese
Rice is the major crop in Thailand because it is the staple food of the Thai population. Although Thailand is the main rice-exporting country in the world, its rice yields are among the lowest in Asia. The Thai government has continued to promote increased use of inputs in rice production in order to increase rice yield. However, using production inputs in greater amounts has resulted in higher amounts of loans being required, particularly from rural financial institutions. This paper seeks to investigate the impact of agricultural loans on the technical efficiency of rice farmers. Stochastic frontier production functions are estimated using survey data collected in 2004 from 656 rice farmers in the two provinces, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. The empirical analysis indicates that the stochastic frontier production functions in both provinces are not the same. A neutral stochastic frontier production function is found to be adequate for Chiang Mai province, but not so for Chiang Rai province where the technical inefficiencies of production tend to increase with the area of rice planted. In addition, the results show that the most significant variables explaining the variation in major rice production are land area under major rice and the amount of labour used for the principal activity. The contribution of land in increasing production is more prominent. The estimates for the inefficiency model indicate that the technical inefficiencies of production of farmers in Chiang Mai are significantly different for debtors and non-debtors, such that they are negatively related to the amount of loans for major rice production, the formal education level of the head of household and the age of the head of household. In addition, the technical inefficiency effects for farmers in Chiang Rai province tend to increase significantly as the land area under major rice increase, but decrease significantly as the amount of loans for major rice production increases. The average technical efficiencies of rice farmers were estimated to be 81.9 and 73.2 per cent of the potential frontier production levels in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces, respectively, showing that there is scope for increasing major rice production by about 18 and 27 per cent, respectively. Hence, agricultural policy makers should focus on the factor affecting the efficiency of farmers, especially the formal education level of farmers and the rural financial services in rural areas since the greater the years of schooling and the higher the loan amounts for major rice production the higher the technical efficiency tends to be for major rice farmers.Professor William Hagen
The paper analyzes an anti-Jewish pogrom which occurred in November 1918 in the east Galician city of Lemberg following the defeat by Polish forces of Ukrainian insurgents, who had seized control following the collapse of the Habsburg regime at World War I's end. Several days of violence inflicted on the Jewish population by Polish troops and civilians exacted a heavy toll in life and property. The paper offers an analysis focused on the expressiveness of popular violence, reading the social and cultural meanings which the perpetrators invested in the violence. The argument is that these meanings dramatized or embodied a popular moral economy, embraced more or less consciously within the Polish community, concerning normative Polish-Jewish relations. The essay contrasts such an interpretive approach to the more widespread concentration in the scholarly literature on the politically or economically driven instrumental rationality of ethnic violence.Mr Brian Pape - School of Law, UNE
Interviewed by Richard Epstein Ronald Coase received the 1991 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. His articles, The Problem of Social Cost and The Nature of the Firm" are among the most important and most often cited works in the whole of economic literature. He recounts how he used the time when he was editor (1964-1982) of the Journal of Law and Economics, " to encourage economists and lawyers to write about the way in which actual markets operate, and about how governments actually perform in regulating or undertaking economic activities." Richard A.Epstein who is the James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor of Law at the University of Chicago is the interviewer. Epstein is the author of such works as the Principles for a Free Society: Reconciling Individual Liberty with the Common Good; Simple Rules For a Complex World, Forbidden Grounds: The Case Against Employment Discrimination Laws, and Takings: Private Property and the Power of Eminent Domain.
Associate Professor Oscar Cacho - School of Economics, UNE
Transaction Costs in the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol: the influence of project design
The results show that the factor analysis produces parameters with the expected signs and that deriving price elasticities from the component factors is achievable. The price elasticity for initial tenderness was 31.5 cents per kilogram (c/kg) and 30.9 c/kg for sustained tenderness. The elasticities for juiciness and beef flavour were 28.8 and 27.9 c/kg respectively. Increasing cooking time and cooking loss would decrease prices by 27.9 and 26.8 c/kg respectively. A one per cent decrease in off-flavours would lead to a 17.8 c/kg increase in price. Further research is required to validate the factor scores and hedonic parameter estimates for the Australian retail market.
Dr Terence Farrell - School of Economics, UNE
A HEDONIC MODEL OF CORRELATED SENSORY ATTRIBUTES OF RETAIL BEEF CUTS
Hedonic models are typically used to value attributes of food products. The sensory data in such models are sometimes highly correlated. Factor analysis (FA) can be employed to create uncorrelated variables from correlated sensory attributes. Typical sensory attributes for meat cuts include tenderness, juiciness, flavour, off-flavour and aroma. The parameters of factor scores can be estimated in conjunction with other independent normally distributed variables in a hedonic equation. The parameters on the new variables derived from factor analysis can then be used to estimate price elasticities for the set of correlated sensory variables.
Professor Malcolm Treadgold - School of Economics, UNE
"Factors inhibiting deflationary bias in currency board economies: evidence from the colonial era"
A traditional criticism of currency boards is that they impart a deflationary bias to growing economies. There are, however, three factors that may inhibit the bias: increases in velocity; increases in the monetary base, which under a currency board occur only through balance of payments surpluses; and increases in the money multiplier. This paper investigates each of the factors in Fiji, Ghana, Jamaica and Malaya over various periods near the end of the colonial era. Except in Malaya, where the money multiplier declined, all three factors helped to prevent deflationary outcomes. In broad terms, growth in the monetary base was the most important
Professors John Spriggs and Barbara Chambers - Australian Institute for Sustainable Communities, University of Canberra
"Marketing, Institutions And Action Research: The Case of Fresh Produce from the Highlands of PNG"
The marketing system for fresh produce from the Highlands of PNG is in poor shape and this seminar is a report on our ACIAR-funded project aimed at improving it. The project is a departure from traditional positivistic research (which attempts to explain, predict and perhaps end with a set of recommendations). Rather, it is an example of action research (which attempts to inform, facilitate action and effect positive change in the system). We want to discuss our approach to action research and also to discuss the important role we see in this for institutional change - where institutions are viewed as the socio-economic rules governing behaviour of participants of the marketing system.
Dr Albert Hapuarachilage - School of Economics, UNE
"Monetary Policies and Macroeconomic Impacts: An SVAR Model Approach for the Case of Sri Lanka"
This paper uses a structural vector autoregression model to investigate the effects of a one percentage- point increase in the interest rate on GDP and other key macroeconomic variables in the Sri Lankan economy. In contrast to studies focusing on advanced economies, our results suggest that output is not sensitive to the interest rate shocks in Sri Lanka, possibly due to the under- developed financial markets and the dominance of supply shocks over demand shocks. Using impulse response functions and analysis of variance decomposition, this paper finds that Sri Lanka is not yet ready to implement monetary policies for adjusting its economy.
The John L. Dillon Memorial Lecture 2006 - Emeritus Professor Jock R. Anderson
Director of the Australian Centre for Agriculture and Law and Associate Dean, Research in the Faculty of Economics, Business and Law
Research Issues and Direction in EBL
Professor Martin, the Director of the Australian Centre for Agriculture and Law and Associate Dean, Research in the Faculty of Economics, Business and Law will lead a roundtable discussion on the issues surrounding and directing research in the Faculty, potential links between researchers and the future direction of research.
Professor Roley Piggott - Dean, EBL, UNE
Agricultural R & D in the Developing World: Too little, Too late?
The basic theme is one of raising alarm bells about the future capacity of the world's poor countries to generate the agricultural technologies they will require to feed themselves if recent changes in the global structure of agricultural research institutions and investments continue unabated. It will draw on a forthcoming book edited by Alston, Pardey and Piggott and published by the International Food Policy Research Institute.
Associate Professor Oscar Cacho - School of Economics, UNE
Evaluating the feasibility of eradicating invasive populations
Invasive species are a major problem worldwide. According to some estimates they are the second most important cause of species extinctions (after deforestation). The feasibility of eradicating a new invasion when it is first discovered is influenced by the detectability of the organism in question, as well as by the amount of resources invested in search and control efforts. Search theory (originally developed to improve the success rate in detecting military targets and now used in search and rescue operations) offers a framework for defining and measuring detectability. In this paper we incorporate concepts of search theory with demographic characteristics of the invader to calculate the costs of search and control as functions of the amount of search effort. Results indicate that the demographic characteristics of an invading population affect the shape and position of the cost function, with implications for the design of efficient eradication strategies.