Sarah Sinclair

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

The Australian baby bonus offering parents

Relationships Matter: The Social and Economic Benefits of Community Playgroups

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

The marginal cost of a bedroom: An Australian case study

43,000 per extra child.

The potential of child support to reduce lone mother poverty: Comparing population survey data in Australia and the UK

Community playgroups have been a feature of Australia’s early childhood education and care landscape for at least forty years. Research in this field has focused on the developmental benefits of playgroup participation for children. However, as a playgroup member interviewed for this study said, that tells only half the story of playgroups’ benefits. The other half – and the focus of this report – describes the benefits of participation for parents and carers, and the spillovers or wider social value that this generates. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative data, this research contributes to knowledge and advocacy gaps by critically appraising:• the contribution of playgroups to the landscape of social care• their adaptive response to changing social and economic trends• their role in developing social capital and acting as a catalyst for parents and carers to engage with other social settings, and• their contribution to the informal or non-market economy.The findings of this study emphasise the point developed by social capital theorists that relationships matter. However, the report also reveals some structural weaknesses and constraints that may impede playgroup participation and the contribution of playgroups to community capacity building. These include:• constraints around the finances, leadership and training support of playgroups• variable participation across cultural, linguistic and faith groups• gaps in information provision about playgroups.

Retirees, Creatives and Housing Market Complexity: Challenges for Policy‐Makers

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.