Abstract: It turns out that price index functions share a basic interpretation; practically all of them measure a change in some average of quality-adjusted prices. The different options are distinguished by their choice of average, their definition of quality, and their stance on what I label ‘equal interest’. This new perspective updates the so-called stochastic...

Australia has a detailed system of ‘awards’ that specify different minimum wages depending on the industry, location and skill of an employee. Using job-level data from a survey of firms, this paper examines the effect of award wage changes on wages, hours worked and the job destruction rate.

This paper examines the distribution of borrowing rates paid by companies, and the relationship between corporate borrowing rates and fixed capital investment, using a unique hand-collected dataset.

Some government policies restrict the supply of housing. Examples include minimum lot sizes, maximum building heights and planning approval processes. Although these restrictions may confer benefits, they also raise the price of housing. This paper attempts to quantify the effect of zoning on housing prices in Australia’s four largest cities.

Using data on Australian households over time, this article finds that workers' perceptions of their own job security have declined in recent years. These weaker job security perceptions have provided a small drag on wage growth.