The latest edition of The Australian Economic Review has been published and placed online. Included in this month’s edition is a policy forum on women in the Australian Labour Market.

The Australian Economic Review is an applied economics journal with a strong policy orientation. Produced by the Melbourne Institute, it is the leading journal of its kind in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.

The Australian Economic Review publishes high-quality articles applying economic analysis to a wide range of macroeconomic and microeconomic topics relevant to both economic and social policy issues. While it is of special interest to Australian academics, students, policy makers and others interested in the Australian economy, the journal also considers matters of international interest.

Below are the details of this month’s contents and their respective authors.

History of Federal–State Fiscal Relations in Australia: A Review of the Methodologies Used – By Ross Williams

 This survey article summarises and evaluates the range of methodologies used since federation to deal with vertical and horizontal fiscal imbalances in federal and state government finances in Australia.

The Melbourne Institute was established in 1962 by Ronald Henderson, this year is its fiftieth birthday.

 Contributed Articles

 Unobserved Heterogeneity, Job Training and the Employer Size–Wage Effect in Australia – By Lixin Cai and C. Jeffrey Waddoups

 This study finds the employer size–wage effect in Australia is largely driven by unobserved quality differences of workers. Job training does not appear to be important in explaining the effect.

 Supply Elasticity Estimates for the Sydney Housing Market – By Emily Gitelman and Glenn Otto

 Estimates of supply elasticity for housing in Sydney are presented. Supply is inelastic and there is evidence of a significant decline in elasticity during the period 1991–2006.

Forecasting Housing Approvals in Australia: Do Forecasters Herd? – By Christian Pierdzioch, Jan-Christoph R¨ulke and Georg Stadtmann

The authors examine forecasts of housing approvals for Australia and find that forecasters anti-herd. The extent of anti-herding varies over time. Anti-herding lowers forecast accuracy.

 Policy Forum: Women in the Australian Labour Market

How Women Are Faring in the Australian Labour Market – By Judith Sloan

This Policy Forum deals with the role of women in the Australian labour market and focuses particularly on the explanation of the persistence of the gender earnings gap around 15 per cent.

 Women in the Workforce – By Elizabeth Broderick

This article outlines the case for increasing women’s labour market participation in Australia, examines some of the ways women are disadvantaged and highlights recent initiatives aimed at encouraging equal participation.

That Pesky Problem of Persistent Gender Bias – By Deborah A. Cobb-Clark

This article considers the relationship between both statistical and self-assessed measures of gender discrimination.

 Wages in Managed Markets: An Explanation of the Gender Wage Gap? – By Jenny Gordon

Managed markets and very rapid growth in the labour force participation of mature age women lie, at least in part, behind the persistence of the gender wage gap.

  Data Survey

 A Socio-Economic Profile of Families in the First Wave of the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children – By Killian Mullan and Gerry Redmond

 This article introduces economists to the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children, with a descriptive presentation of socio-economic indicators across areas of differing relative remoteness from the first wave of the survey.

 For the Student

Renewable Resource Economics – By Stephanie McWhinnie

This article examines three key issues in renewable resources and the techniques economists use to address them, focusing on fisheries.

To read these articles click here.