Jonathan Boymal

Qualitative cost-benefit evaluation of complex, emergent programs

This paper discusses a methodology used for a qualitative cost-benefit evaluation of a complex, emergent program. Complex, emergent programs, where implementation varies considerably over time and across sites to respond to local needs and opportunities, present challenges to conventional methods for cost-benefit evaluation. Such programs are characterized by: ill-defined boundaries of what constitutes the intervention, and hence the resources used; non-standardized procedures; differing short-term outcomes across projects, even within the same long-term goals; and outcomes that are the result of multiple factors and co-production, making counter-factual approaches to attribution inadequate and the use of standardized outcome measures problematic. The paper discusses the advantages and limitations of this method and its implications for cost-benefit evaluation of complex programs.

A re-appraisal of the fertility response to the Australian baby bonus

The Australian baby bonus offering parents

The marginal cost of a bedroom: An Australian case study

3,000 on the birth of a new child was announced on 11 May 2004. The availability of five years of birth data following the introduction of the baby bonus allows for a more comprehensive analysis of the policy implications than is current in the literature. The focus of this paper is to identify if there is a positive fertility choice response to the introduction of the Australian baby bonus policy and if this response is sustained over time. To do this, 19 years of birth and macroeconomic data, beginning in 1990, is analysed using an unobservable components model. The results indicate a significant increase in birth numbers ten months following the announcement of the baby bonus, and this overall increase was sustained up to the end of the observed period. A cumulative growth in birth numbers which commenced in January 2006 slows in 2008 and 2009. It is suggested that the initial increase in births, identified in March 2005, is a direct fertility response to the introduction of the policy, and that the subsequent change in the growth of birth numbers may be the result of a delayed effect working through a number of channels. We estimate that approximately 108,000 births are attributable to the baby bonus over the period, at an approximate cost of

Addiction and intrapersonal externalities in the labour market

43,000 per extra child.

Internet diffusion in Vietnam

Abstract After a long period of decline, a slight increase in household size in Australia has been observed in recent years. This reversal, in part, is due to a noticeable change in household formation patterns. An increase in multigenerational households and group living has been coupled with policy incentives aimed at reversing the decrease in fertility. In this paper, the results of a hedonic analysis of the cost of housing additional household members using Melbourne metropolitan sales data are presented. Specifically, estimates of the marginal price of an additional bedroom are discussed. The results show that the true cost of housing additional household members has increased substantially. Further, increasing marginal costs are evident for growing households, as captured by rising shadow prices for third, fourth and fifth bedrooms.

The political economy of internet innovation policy in Vietnam

Abstract This paper attempts to model individual decision-making with respect to alcohol consumption as an intrapersonal game among different temporal selves. A temporal self’s decision regarding alcohol consumption is shown to affect the utility of other selves. This externality gives rise to a potential co-ordination problem. The co-ordination problem may lead to the existence of multiple intrapersonal equilibria which are Pareto rankable. The analysis of alcohol addiction is likely to yield very different conclusions when based upon such a framework as compared to Becker and Murphy’s (1988) rational addiction approach. For example, the reinforcement process characterising addiction emerges not because of the increased marginal benefits associated with alcohol consumption, but rather due to the decreased marginal productivity in the production of substitute commodities. The reasons for the persistence of addictive behaviour and potential for recovery are explored and the effect of depression on addictive consumption is illustrated.