Report
Neighborhood diversity and the appreciation of native- and immigrant-owned homes
This paper examines the effect of neighborhood diversity on the nativity gap in home-value appreciation in Australia. Specifically, immigrant homeowners experienced a 41.7 percent increase in median home values between 2001 and 2006, while the median value of housing owned by the native-born increased by 59.4 percent over the same period. The authors use a...
Report
The availability of child care centers, perceived search costs and parental life satisfaction
The supply of formal childcare has expanded in many developed countries. There is ambiguity, however, in the theory that the entry of care providers increases consumers’ surplus and the welfare of households in a market with differentiated services, such as childcare. This study empirically investigates how perceived search costs and parental life satisfaction change when...
Report
Parental investment in children: differential pathways of parental education and mental health
This paper examines pathways through which parental characteristics might affect children's cognitive and behavioural outcomes. Using the 2004 LSAC, the author shows that more educated and mentally healthier parents are likely to have children with better outcomes. While educated parents are more frequently engaged in education-oriented activities with their children, mentally healthier parents exhibit more...
Report
Estimating teacher effectiveness from two-year changes in students' test scores
Using a dataset covering over 10,000 Australian primary school teachers and over 90,000 pupils, Leigh estimates how effective teachers are in raising students’ test scores from one exam to the next.
Discussion paper
Long-run trends in school productivity: evidence from Australia
Outside the United States, very little is known about long-run trends in school productivity. This paper presents new evidence using two data series from Australia, where comparable tests are available back to the 1960s.