April 2014 AI (#49) includes four banking lectures by Grimes

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Asymmetric Information Issue 49 2014

Issue No. 49 April 2014 contents:

  • Editorial
  • An Interview with Grant Scobie (by Brian Silverstone) – repeat three times ‘Economics is all about incentives; the rest is commentary’.
  • The Five Minute Interview (Sholeh Maani)
  • From the 2B RED File (by Grant Scobie)
  • ‘Frames’ (by Stuart Birks)
  • Blogwatch (by Paul Walker)
  • Fine Lines (by Stephen Knowles)
  • Four Lectures on Banking (by Arthur Grimes)
  • The Integrated Data Infrastructure (Bex Sullivan and Lynsey Hayes)
  • Research in Progress (Auckland University of Technology)

WEAI 11th Pacific Rim Conference 8-11 Jan 2015 in Wellington

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The  11th Pacific Rim Conference of the Western Economic Association International (WEAI) will be held 8-11 January 2015 in New Zealand.  The conference website https://weai.org/PR2015 is open for registration and submission of paper abstracts.  NZAE members can participate in this conference; you may wish to go to their website and submit a paper.

Hosted by the Victoria University of Wellington and Massey University at Wellington, and sponsored by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the New Zealand Treasury, the Pacific Rim Conference will include the following Keynote Speakers:

  • Robert Engle, 2003 recipient of The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel,
  • Christopher Sims, 2011 recipient of The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel,
  • David Card, University of California, Berkeley, 2014- 2015 WEAI President-Elect and Program Committee Chair, and recipient of the 1995 John Bates Clark medal.

About WEAI

Formed in 1922, WEAI currently publishes two journals, Economic Inquiry and Contemporary Economic Policy, and holds two conference series, the Annual Conferences and Pacific Rim Conferences.

Call for Papers by 30-Oct-14: Special issue on temporary employment

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Many economies have recently experienced a growth in temporary employment within their services sectors, and both the determinants and implications of this phenomenon are of interest to academics and policymakers. Past literature has often suggested that changes in the temporary workforce pool are the result of progressive labour market deregulations and shifting preferences towards increased employment flexibility. Alternatively, it has also been observed that demand for temporary workers is more cyclical in nature (Bentzen, 2012)1. The implications of temporary employment for the productivity, job security and well-being of both temporary and permanent workers are equally important. Specifically, this special issue aims to examine a variety of facets specific to temporary workers, such as (but not limited to) the aforementioned, in order to highlight the key determinants, challenges, concerns and related outcomes of the temporary workforce.to) the aforementioned, in order to highlight the key determinants, challenges, concerns and related outcomes of the temporary workforce.

It is envisaged that the special issue will focus on (but not limited to) key areas relating to:
– Labour market flexibility reforms and implications
– Promotion of the temporary workforce industry
– Cost-Benefit analysis of a two-tiered labour market
– The comparative levels of productivity between temporary and permanent workers
– Levels of job security and well-being associated with temporary employees
– Stakeholder perceptions of non-permanent employees

This special issue is to be guest-edited by Associate Professor Gail Pacheco (email: gail.pacheco@aut.ac.nz) and Professor Tim Maloney (email: tim.maloney@aut.ac.nz) of the Department of Economics, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand.

The Australian Journal of Labour Economics is a journal published by the Centre for Labour Market Research (CLMR) at University of Canberra, Australia. It is the Official Journal of the Australian Society of Labour Economists and focuses primarily on theoretical and policy related developments with respect to the Australian context. Please note, application to the Australian context is not a criterion for acceptance.

It is requested that submissions be made to Pat Madden (email: patricia.madden@cbs.curtin.edu.au) and that you indicate that you wish your paper to be considered for the special issue on temporary employment. The selection of papers to be included within the edition will follow peer review process, and the final versions of accepted papers must be submitted in a format compatible with MS-Word.

Submission deadline: 30th October 2014
1 Bentzen, E.J. (2012) What Drives the Demand for Temporary Agency Workers? Labour 26(3), 341-355.

Conference on Reflections on 25 Years of Inflation Targeting 1-3 Dec 2014

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This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act (1989), which granted the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) its independence, introduced price stability as its primary objective, and thus instituted inflation targeting as a monetary policy regime. To mark this occasion, RBNZ and the International Journal of Central Banking (IJCB) are organising a conference on 1‐3 December 2014 in Wellington, New Zealand. More

Workshop on Interactions Between Monetary and Macro-prudential Policies 22-Oct-2014

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On 22 October the Reserve Bank of New Zealand will host a one-day workshop on interactions between monetary and macro-prudential policies in Wellington, New Zealand. The workshop aims to draw together policy analysis and research that contributes to the debate on the design of monetary and macro-prudential policies. More

2014 History of Economic Thought Society of Australia conference in Auckland 11-12 July

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The University of Auckland will host the 2014 HETSA conference in 2014. Registration is open to all those interested in the contest of ideas and the intellectual history of economics. The first conference session will be scheduled for Friday 11 July at 9am. More

2014 NZEP Issue 1 includes papers on recent NZ performance

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The contents of New Zealand Economic Papers, Volume 48, Issue 1, 2014 (available online or by subscription):

  • Foreign acquisition and the performance of New Zealand firms by Richard Fabling & Lynda Sanderson
  • New Zealand households and the 2008/09 recession by Christopher Ball & Michael Ryan
  • The S-curve dynamics of trade between the US and Korea: Evidence from commodity trade by Mohsen Bahmani-Oskooee & Jia Xu
  • The composition of government expenditure with alternative choice mechanisms by John Creedy & Solmaz Moslehi
  • Comparing merger enforcement across jurisdictions – New Zealand versus the European Union and the United States by Michael Pickford & Qing Gong Yang
  • Should bonus points be included in the Six Nations Championship? by Niven Winchester

Brian Easton to present NIDEA Seminar in Hamilton 27-Mar-2014

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The Long Term Prospects for Health Spending

Dr Brian Easton, Economic and Social Trust on New Zealand

ABSTRACT: Last year the Treasury released its long term fiscal projections which look up to 40 years out. Although initially the big concern was demographic change and New Zealand superannuation, it soon became clear that a major issue was public sector health spending. Brian, who was on the group advising the Treasury on the projections, will explain the population and health projections and outline what they might mean for public policy. The projections are at https://www.treasury.govt.nz/government/longterm/fiscalposition/2013

BIO: Dr Brian Easton has had a long involvement in health economics and in economic forecasting (and has made occasional forays into demographic analysis). He is currently writing a history of New Zealand from an economic perspective .which includes an account of the history of the health system and which is heavily dependent on the analysis of population change (especially where the economic data are deficient). Brian is Research Associate of the National Institute for Demographic and Economic Analysis and an Honorary Fellow of the Wellington School of Medicine of the University of Otago. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society, a Chartered Statistician, and a Member of the Royal Society of New Zealand, and a Distinguished Fellow of the New Zealand Economic Association.

When: Thursday 27th March 2014, 1.10. – 2.00 pm

Where: I.1.05 For more information please contact Professor Jacques Poot (jpoot@waikato.ac.nz)

Seminar website https://www.waikato.ac.nz/nidea/events

Bob Buckle amongst 2014 New Year Honours list

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Congratulations to NZAE Life Member Bob Buckle for being appointed an officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to business and education.

As acknowledged in the New Zealand Herald,

“Bob Buckle is one of New Zealand’s leading economists and was principal adviser to the Treasury from 2000 until 2008, the same year he became pro vice-chancellor and dean of commerce at Victoria University’s Business School. A former chairman of the economic committee of APEC, Buckle is appointed an officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business and education.

He is a life member and former president of the NZ Association of Economists.

He also set up and funded a prize to help young people into university, which is awarded to one student from Whangarei Boys’ High School and another from Whangarei Girls’ High School each year. Buckle attended Whangarei Boys in the early 1960s.

He also established a scholarship to fund international mental health experts to come to New Zealand following the sudden death of his son in 2003.

Buckle was chairman of the Tax Working Group, which reviewed the country’s tax system and contributed to reform. He has authored more than 100 publications.”

2013 NZEP Issue 3 is a Special Issue on Innovation in Teaching Undergraduate Economics

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The contents of New Zealand Economic Papers, Volume 47, Issue 3, 2013 (available online or by subscription):

  • Returns to different ‘learning styles’: Evidence from a course in microeconomics by Taggert J. Brooks & A. Wahhab Khandker
  • Comparing online quizzes and take-home assignments as formative assessments in a 100-level economics course by Gillis Maclean & Paul McKeown
  • Challenge quizzes: A unique tool for motivation and assessment by KimMarie McGoldrick & Peter W. Schuhmann
  • Is activity in online quizzes correlated with higher exam marks? by Paul McKeown & Gillis Maclean
  • Assigning grades during an earthquake – shaken or stirred? by Stephen Hickson & Stephen Agnew
  • Optimal dynamic regulation of the environmental impact of mining across diverse land types by Graeme J. Doole & Ben White
  • An evaluation of New Zealand macroeconomic survey forecasts by Hamid Baghestani & Ilker Kaya

November 2013 AI (#48) features interview with Len Bayliss

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Asymmetric Information Issue 48 2013 available as pdf copy here

Issue No. 48 November 2013 contents:

  • Editorial

  • An Interview with Len Bayliss (by Michael Reddell)

  • NZIER Economics Award 2013: Jacques Poot

  • The Five Minute Interview (Jacques Poot)

  • From the 2B RED File (by Grant Scobie)

  • ‘Frames’ (by Stuart Birks)

  • Blogwatch (by Paul Walker)

  • Fine Lines (by Paul Conway and Lisa Meehan)

  • Heterogeneity in management practices in NZ dairy farms (Motu: Suzi Kerr)

  • Regional Estimates of Tourism Expenditure (by Vij Kooyela and Peter Ellis)

  • International investment data in the NZ LBD (by Lynda Sanderson)

  • The Government Economics Network (GEN)

  • Research in Progress (Lincoln University)

August 2013 NZEP features Stephen Turnovsky on growth and inequality

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The contents of New Zealand Economic Papers, Volume 47, Issue 2, August 2013 (available online or by subscription):

  • The relationship between economic growth and inequality
  • Evaluating research – peer review team assessment and journal based bibliographic measures: New Zealand PBRF research output scores in 2006
  • A microstructural analysis of housing renovation decisions in Brisbane, Australia
  • Does higher social diversity affect people’s contributions to local schools? Evidence from New Zealand

New Zealand Social Statistics Network courses starting 18-Nov-2013

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The New Zealand Social Statistics Network (NZSSN) is offering twelve 5-day courses, two 3-day courses and two 2-day courses in social science research methods, over the period 18th–29th November 2013. The courses will take place at Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Government. The courses on offer are summarised below.

Week 1

INTRODUCTION TO STATISTICS: 18th–22nd November 2013

Christine Miller, Department of Statistics, The University of Auckland

An introductory course in statistical techniques with an emphasis on those applicable to the social sciences, focusing on concepts rather than mathematics.

 

INTRODUCTION TO R: 18th–19th November 2013 (2 DAYS)

TBC, Department of Statistics, The University of Auckland

An intensive course in statistical methods using R, with alternating lecture and lab sessions, so that skills are applied right after being learnt.

 

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH TECHNIQUES: 18th–22nd November 2013

Dr Delwyn Goodrick, Program Evaluation Consultant

An introductory course consisting of lectures and practical workshops, designed for those with no background in research or with no previous experience with qualitative techniques of data collection and analysis.

 

APPLIED COMPUTER-ASSISTED QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS USING NVIVO: 18th–22nd November 2013

Dr Leonie Daws, Principal Consultant, Kihi Consultancies

A course designed for those familiar with qualitative research approaches and interested in using NVivo to assist with qualitative data analysis. The focus is on learning the NVivo data analysis toolkit through hands-on experience.

 

INTRODUCTION TO STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELLING USING AMOS OR MPLUS: 18th–22nd November 2013

Associate Professor Everarda Cunningham, Swinburne University of Technology

An applied course in using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), which is used to find and test complex relationships among observed and latent variables.

 

INTRODUCTION TO SURVEY DESIGN: 18th–22nd November 2013

Dr Gordon Emmerson, Honorary Fellow, Victoria University, Melbourne

An introductory course covering underlying theory and best practice in quantitative survey design.

 

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL NETWORK RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS: 18th–22nd November 2013

Associate Professor Malcolm Alexander, School of Humanities, Griffith University, Queensland

This course introduces information and data collection methods used by social scientists working on social networks.

 

FUNDAMENTALS OF SPSS: 18th–22nd November 2013

Associate Professor Brian Phillips, Swinburne University of Technology

This course provides the beginner in quantitative data analysis with the basic requirements for analysis in an SPSS computing environment, focusing on the analysis of survey, administrative and/or census data.

 

DATA ANALYSIS USING STATA: 18th–22nd November 2013

Joanna Dipnall, CogNETive

The aim of the course is to provide the participants with understanding and experience to undertake a basic research project in the social or health sciences using Stata as the statistical tool. Stata is a comprehensive integrated package for data management, analysis and graphics.

 

 

Week 2

PROGRAMME EVALUATION – SUPPORTING EVIDENCE-INFORMED PRACTICE: 25th–29th November 2013

Dr Delwyn Goodrick, Program Evaluation Consultant

A course designed for public sector workers and academics interested in commissioning, managing or conducting evaluations of public policy or programmes. (Previously called Introduction to Program Evaluation.)

 

APPLIED MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS USING STATA: 25th–29th November 2013

Joanna Dipnall, CogNETive

A followup course in Stata, focusing on multivariate statistical techniques, from multiple and logistic regression through principal components analysis and multidimensional scaling, and data visualisation using these methods.

 

MIXED METHODS IN SOCIAL RESEARCH: 25th–29th November 2013

Dr Gordon Emmerson, Honorary Fellow, Victoria University, Melbourne

A course intended for current and emerging researchers who want to know more about using both qualitative and quantitative methods in their research.

 

APPLIED STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELS USING MPLUS: 25th–29th November 2013

Associate Professor Everarda Cunningham, Swinburne University of Technology

The first part of the course focuses on using Mplus to specify and interpret common models in SEM, e.g. path analytic and confirmatory factor analysis models; the second part introduces multi-group comparisons and complex longitudinal models.

 

ADVANCED QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS USING NVIVO: 25th–27th November 2013 (3 DAYS)

Dr Leonie Daws, Principal Consultant, Kihi Consultancies

An advanced course designed for those working on research projects already utilising the software, focusing on higher-level data analysis, theory building and hypothesis testing, validating findings, and producing reports and accounts.

 

BASICS AND BEYOND OF FOCUS GROUP RESEARCH: 25th–27th November 2013 (3 DAYS)

Dr Martha Ann Carey

This workshop uses a hands-on approach to focus groups for varying levels of rigorous research. Understanding the underlying concepts will enable you to master and adapt the tools effectively with various groups and communities.

 

Q-METHODOLOGY: 25th–26th November 2013 (2 DAYS)

Dr Amanda Wolf, School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington

We will complete a Q study from soup to nuts, with workshop participants serving as both researchers and data providers. Attention will be given to both the basic steps involved in a Q-methodology study and the foundational theory.

 

 

For more information and cost/payment details, please visit www.nzssn.org.nz. Discounts are available for multiple enrolments from a single institution. Our earlybird closing date is Friday 18th October 2013.

 

NZSSN courses are designed to serve a wide variety of needs for training and professional development in the academic, public and private sectors. Courses cater not only to researchers in the social and political sciences, but also those in areas such as the behavioural sciences, medical and health sciences, epidemiology, policy research, education, economics, law, management, marketing, public relations and human resource management. Our short courses are delivered by highly qualified instructors and previous courses have received outstanding reviews.

 

If you are aware of any other individuals/departments/companies that might be interested in these NZSSN courses, could you please advise me, and I will forward information directly to them. Alternatively, please do not hesitate to circulate the material yourself.

 

For more information, and/or to enrol, please visit www.nzssn.org.nz or email courses@nzssn.org.nz

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