Duncan Ironmonger

Counting outputs, capital inputs and caring labor: Estimating gross household product

The estimation of Gross Household Product, the economic value added by the unpaid work and own capital of households outside the boundary of the System of National Accounts, should be addressed through household input-output satellite accounts which count household outputs, value them at market prices, and include an allowance for capital as a factor of production. This paper uses internationally comparable survey data to estimate the relative magnitudes of the gender division of the millions of hours of paid, unpaid and total work in twelve OECD countries, puts a dollar value on Gross Household Product in Australia, looks more closely at who provides care and nurture in households and suggests some urgent issues for attention.

Economies of scale in energy use in adult-only households

The residential sector is responsible for 18% of Australias primary energy use; thus improved knowledge about household energy use is vital to future energy management. This study examines economies of scale in energy use and expenditure among adult-only households and across three adult-only household types. Significant economies of scale are found in all cases. Small households suffer a double penalty of greater per capita energy use and higher charge per unit of energy, with older households the most affected. The trend towards smaller average household size means that economies of scale are continually being lost, offsetting gains in energy efficiency achieved through other means.

Projections of households and household populations by household size propensities

This paper describes a method for constructing projections of numbers of households of various types and the numbers of people in that structure. The method uses the concept ofhousehold size propensity, that is the probability that a person of given age and sex resides in a household of sizea, c, wherea is the number of adults per household andc is number of children per household. Using data from the 1981 and 1986 Censuses and population projections to the year 2011, the method produces projections of Australian households and household populations by size of household for five-year intervals from 1991 to 2011.

Household size and the poisson distribution

Household size distributions for 104 countries are examined. It is shown that a Poisson distribution truncated at zero can be used to derive models of household size distribution. An improved fit is obtained by adding a linear term to the truncated Poisson model. This distribution depends only on average household size which in turn is shown to be related to modified dependency ratios. This method can be used for comparisons of household size distributions across nations and for long-term forecasting.

Energy consumption in Australia: Evidence from a generalized working model

Abstract The paper reports an application of the generalized Working model, as proposed by Laitinen-Theil-Raparla (1981) to Australian household expenditure data, to obtain estimates of income elasticities for four types of energy: electricity, gas, other fuels and petrol. The evidence indicates some gain in the Laitinen-Theil-Raparla model but this gain is insufficient, in terms of the Atkinson (1973) test, to significantly discriminate it from the linear expenditure system.

Equivalence Scales - a Household Production Approach

Abstract The paper uses a cost minimization version of Beckers household production analysis and microdata from household expenditure and time-use surveys to estimate equivalence scales or relative costs for the intrafamily classes of adults and children in Australia for the period 1975–1976. The findings set reference standards for further research with economic welfare policy applications in Australia.

Improvements in Transport Infrastructure are designed to Increase Travel Speed: Comments on ‘The Myth of Travel Time Saving’

grounds for reviewing the UK official employer’s business values which are based on the cost saving approach rather than willingness to pay. (5) To summarize, generalized cost change, of which VTTS is generally the largest component, is a convenient metaphor for the value of the million and one responses which the economic and social system makes to a perturbation such as a new piece of transport infrastructure. It is neither feasible nor necessary to use a literal comprehensive representation of system response; generalized cost is a useful reduced form. (6) The constant travel time budget argument has few implications one way or the other for the future of cost-benefit analysis as opposed to multi-criteria, planning balance sheets or any other form of appraisal scorecard. What is true for one is true for all. The real issues for transport appraisal are not those in this paper but rather how to generate sensible packages of multi-modal options for assessment including pricing and funding options in an integral way, how to nest CBA within an MCA approach used at the screening stage and how to ensure judicious choice of study areas, behavioural representation and elasticities so as to achieve defensible appraisal results. These are the challenges of the post-Stern, post-Eddington world.

Longitudinal working models : Estimates of household energy consumption in Australia

Abstract The paper uses household expenditure survey data and alternative functional specifications of Engels laws to establish an empirical pattern of disaggregate energy (ie electricity, gas, other fuels and gasoline) demand characterized by different demographic attributes for use in a combined panel data model of energy consumption and impact in Australia. The findings lend support, in terms of statistical efficiency and economic–theoretic plausibility, to the dominance of the Working form over the conventional linear Allen–Bowley function. Energy as a whole is a necessity while at the disaggregate level gasoline is considered a luxury. The findings indicate in this respect the existence of demand elasticity bias in aggregate energy models.

Testing the Practicality of a Personal Digital Assistant Questionnaire versus a Beeper and Booklet Questionnaire in a Random-Time Experience-Sampling Method Context

Abstract The Random-Time Experience-Sampling (RTES) method has been used to examine people’s subjective experience of time in particular activity contexts as they are experiencing particular events at random times throughout the day. The method involves a signalling device that cues respondents (at random intervals) to evaluate and report their activities for up to 70 moments of time during a week. While many empirical studies have used electronic pagers or ‘beepers’ to signal respondents, advances in information technologies have led to the increasing use of computerised platforms in Experience Sampling Method (ESM) research. This paper reports on a pilot study to examine respondent reactions and ability to complete a time use survey using two different reporting methods. Each respondent was asked to complete a time diary at random times of the day using: 1. a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) (for three days); and 2. a Beeper and Booklet (B&B) (for four days). PDAs are handheld computers. The researchers loaded the PDAs with specialised survey software for participants to electronically report time use experiences in response to signals from the PDA. The B&B method required respondents to report their time use experiences in a survey booklet when signalled at random times by a purpose-built electronic beeper. Based on positive respondent feedback on the merits of the PDA platform and the ability to download responses directly from the PDAs, a full-scale RTES study of parents in dual-earner households will use this method to gather data about work-life tensions, leisure and wellbeing in future years.