Examining Timor-Leste's current tangle of land ownership claims, this briefing recommends that the government and its partners act now to supplement titling with clear public information. Measures to resolve land disputes in Timor-Leste must go beyond a draft law on land titling if they are to comprehensively reduce the risks posed, otherwise the law could...

Overall, financial stress and conflict have independent effects on youths' transitions and youths' perspectives have different consequences to those of their mothers. This paper analyzes the effect of mothers' and youths' reports of family financial stress and conflict on youths' transitions into adult roles. We find that mothers’ reports of financial stresses and borrowing constraints...

This paper presents a general model of the interaction between settlement and the emergence of de facto property rights on frontiers prior to governments establishing and enforcing de jure property rights. Settlers have an incentive to establish de facto property rights to avoid the dissipation associated with open access conditions. The potential rent associated with...

The shared physical care of children following separation has long been a complex issue, and is again in the spotlight following the passing of the Family Law Amendment (Shared Parental Responsibility) Act 2006. Of course, in general, children benefit from having both parents involved in their lives; but the problem for those involved in family...

The security implications of climate change are attracting increased attention, and for good reason. Scientific evidence shows that the earth is warming due largely to human activities and at a potentially unprecedented rate. Long-term changes in climate already have occurred and are projected to continue, including sea-level rises, more intense and longer droughts, more intense...