Martin Watts

Networks and geography: Modelling community network structures as the outcome of both spatial and network processes

This paper focuses on how to extend the exponential random graph models to take into account the geographical embeddedness of individuals in modelling social networks. We develop a hierarchical set of nested models for spatially embedded social networks, in which, following Butts (2002), an interaction function between tie probability and Euclidean distance between nodes is introduced. The models are illustrated by an empirical example from a study of the role of social networks in understanding spatial clustering in unemployment in Australia. The analysis suggests that a spatial effect cannot solely explain the emergence of organised network structure and it is necessary to include both spatial and endogenous network effects in the model.

Occupational gender segregation: Index measureiient and econometric modeling

Empirical studies of gender segregation by occupation must be founded on rigorous measurement procedures. There appears to be a consensus that any index used in the analysis of time-series or international cross-section employment data must be either margin-free or decomposable to yield a margin-free component. On the other hand, Charles and Grusky (1995) advocate the use of multiplicative log models from which a margin-free odds ratio can be derived. In this paper, I contrast the construction and interpretation of the index of dissimilarity and the Karmel-MacLachlan index with the multiplicative modeling of gender segregation and the associated log index.

The Path to full Employment

Persistent unemployment arises because free market ideology has overridden collective responsibilities. To restore full employment the government must provide permanent employment for all the unemployed in environmentally sustainable and useful jobs.

The Impact of Spatial Imbalance and Socioeconomic Characteristics on Average Distance Commuted in the Sydney Metropolitan Area

There is no consensus on the relationship between urban form and commuting behaviour in the international literature. However, there has been limited Australian research on commuting patterns. In this paper, an integrated spatial econometric model which utilises a number of proxies for urban form is employed to analyse the determinants of average commuting distance by occupation across Statistical Local Areas in the Sydney metropolitan area of New South Wales. It is found that, in contrast to a number of US studies, the jobs to residents ratio is an inadequate proxy for urban form and that both the minimum commute and measures of job proximity have superior explanatory power in concert with a range of socioeconomic variables, including occupational prestige, educational attainment and weekly hours of work.

The developing workfare policy in Australia: a critical assessment

Abstract This article considers the origins, application and implication of work for unemployment benefit programs in Australia. Such programs have evolved in Canada, USA, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand over the past decade. The reasons for the development of such programs and the nature of the programs in Australia are outlined. The schemes operating in Australia are then critically examined in terms of a range of criteria including human rights and their ability to generate successful transitions into full-time employment. There are wider labour market issues to explore. Namely whether workfare programs are purely a means of enforcing reciprocal obligations upon the unemployed or whether they do generate market skills that improve the chances of transition from unemployment into employment. In this context the nature, access, duration and post-program experience of the workfare programs in Australia will be explored.

Wages and Wage Determination in 2003

There was evidence of a very modest acceleration of wage growth in late 2003. The workplace reform agenda slowed in 2003, with the federal government attempting to outlaw any apparent manifestations of union power, such as pattern bargaining and bargaining fees, through legislative reform. No real progress was made with respect to family friendly initiatives, which might challenge the managerial prerogative for determining hours and other conditions of employment.

Trends in Occupational Segregation by Race and Gender in the U.S.A., 1983-92: A Multidimensional Approach

In the measurement of occupational segregation by race and gender, pairwise comparisons of employment distributions, based on the Index of Dissimilarity, are unsatisfactory. A multidimensional approach, based on Silber (1992), is adopted to analyze trends in segregation across six race/gender groups and four groups of occupations over the period 1983-92. Black males and females have integrated fastest, whereas Hispanics integrated slowest. White-collar occupations exhibited a modest pro-cyclical rate of integration, but blue-collar occupations exhibited little change. The empirical results are linked to the recent radical literature that explores the relationship between job exclusion, racial discrimination and wage differentials (Mason 1993 and Williams 1991).

The analysis of sex segregation: When is index measurement not index measurement

In their paper in this issue. Grusky and Charles (1998) make a number of dubious claims about the measurement and interpretation of sex segregation. First, they incorrectly claim that only log-odds measures yield margin-free measures of segregation. Second. the estimation and testing of a limited class of log-linear models does not provide an independent test of the appropriateness of a log-odds ratio index to measure segregation. Their estimation informs them of the statistically justifiable degree of occupational disaggregation, not whether a log-odds ratio is superior to, say, a linear index in the measurement of segregation. Finally, their index A is beset with problems of interpretation. not withstanding their arguments. and their additional measures, Aw and AB, suffer similar problems. Grusky and Charles are. however, correct in arguing that measurement procedures should be margin-free. Further, I concur with the view that the adoption of a single annual summary measure of segregation cannot be justified. because it is premised on the assumption that individual occupations, or groups of occupations. exhibit similar trends in sex segregation.

Alleged instability of the Okun's law relationship in Australia: an empirical analysis

The determinants of the long run equilibrium unemployment rate are modelled through a cointegrating regression. The residual term, which represents the error correction mechanism, is used in the testing of a general dynamic model to obtain a simplified representation of the data generation process over the period 1968(2)–1989(2). The long period equilibrium unemployment rate, which is I(1), is shown to be related to the rate of capacity utilization, a structural change variable and the rate of capacity growth. Steady state rates of unemployment are calculated which are based on different assumptions about the magnitudes of the independent variables. In contrast to the other two variables, changes in the rate of capacity utilization are shown to have only modest effects on the steady state unemployment rate. The Okun coefficient is inversely related to the steady state unemployment rate, which accords with intuition. The statistically significant decline in the trend growth rate of non-farm GDP in the 1970...

Gender segregation in higher educational attainment in Australia 1978–94

In this paper the extent and change of the gender segregation ofcourse completions across fields of study in higher education over theperiod 1978–94 in Australia is measured. It is argued that similarforms of measurement are appropriate in documenting changing patterns ofattainment in higher education by gender, as those which are used formeasuring occupational gender segregation. The issues relating to themeasurement of gender segregation are briefly explored. Over the period1978–86, women and men exhibited a more integrated distribution ofcourse completions, as measured by the Karmel and Maclachlan index of(occupational) segregation. Although women continued to raise their share ofcompletions over the period 1987–94, there was little change in theextent of gender segregation in aggregate, and segregation increased inMasters and Bachelors courses. Reference is also made to the impact ofchanges in the Higher Education Contributory Scheme in 1996 on the gendercomposition of undergraduate course completions. Policies designed toattract women into atypical Higher Education courses are explored.