Dr Benjamin Vu | University of Canberra (original) (raw)
Dr. Vu is a lecturer in Economics and Data Analytics at the University of Canberra (UC), Australia. He holds a PhD Degree in Economics from Griffith University. His research interests are Applied Economics, Health Economics, and Energy Economics.
He has published 18 journal articles in prestigious journals such as Renewable Energy, Applied Economics, Economic Analysis and Policy, Health Economics Review, Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, and Public Health. He is currently leading a seed funding project, and as economic lead, he has completed nine industry/government projects in Australia and overseas. His awarded academic and commercial grants were over $245,000.
He also won several full competitive scholarships with the value of more than $350,000 such as the Ministry of Education and Training Scholarship for outstanding undergraduate student, Petrol Vietnam Scholarship for outstanding undergraduate student, Japanese Mitsubishi Corporation Scholarship for talented undergraduate student, scholarship for outstanding postgraduate student, and scholarship for PhD student.
Before UC, as a lecturer he worked for Griffith University, the University of Queensland, the University of Southern Queensland, and consulting firms. He was a senior lecturer at the National Academy of Politics and Public Administration of Vietnam in which his students were politicians and public servants from central to local governments.
He possesses strong skills in tertiary teaching, desktop research, field research, economics, economic modeling, data analysis, cost-benefit analysis, economic evaluation, policy evaluation, public policy, project management, stakeholder engagement, econometrics, Stata, Eviews, SPSS, Tableau, and Power BI.
Phone: +61404597846
Address: 11 Kirinari Street
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Papers by Dr Benjamin Vu
Faculty of Health; Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Sep 1, 2015
This paper examines output disparities between the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation countries du... more This paper examines output disparities between the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation countries during the period 1990~2011. The results show that inter-country levels of output per capita diverged over the study period but there was a clear break in the trend around 1998. Applying the time-varying individual common factor model, we found that all countries could be grouped into three convergence clubs. Focusing on the time path of each country's output level relative to that of a reference economy such as the United States of America and allowing for possible structural breaks, we found that more countries converged towards the USA during the sub-period 1999~2011. The findings also suggest that the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation could have played some role in diminishing the output inequality between its member countries after the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation reached its current extent in 1998. Likewise, the paper suggests a need to reduce the wide income gap among the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation countries to promote their economic integration.
Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, Oct 17, 2019
Background Estimating the costs of mental illness provides useful policy and managerial informati... more Background Estimating the costs of mental illness provides useful policy and managerial information to improve the quality of life of people living with a mental illness and their families. Objective This paper estimates the costs of mental health in Australia using the standard-ofliving approach. Methods The cost of mental illness was estimated implicitly using a standard of living approach. We analyse data from 16 waves of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey (HILDA) using 209,871 observations. Unobserved heterogeneity was mitigated using an extended random-effects estimator. Results The equivalised disposable income of people with mental illness, measured by a selfreported mental health condition, needs to be 50% higher to achieve a similar living standard as those without a mental illness. The cost estimates vary considerably with measures of mental illness and standard of living. An alternative measure of mental illness using the first quintile of the SF-36 mental health score distribution resulted in an increase of estimated costs to 80% equivalised disposable income. Conclusion People with mental illness need to increase equivalised disposable income, which includes existing financial supports, by 50%-80% to achieve a similar level of financial satisfaction as those without a mental illness. The cost estimate can be substantially higher if the overall life satisfaction is used to proxy for standard of living.
Public Health, Jun 1, 2018
Objectives: Obesity has become a global issue with abundant evidence to indicate that the prevale... more Objectives: Obesity has become a global issue with abundant evidence to indicate that the prevalence of obesity in many nations has increased over time. The literature also reports a strong association between obesity and economic development, but the trend that obesity growth rates may converge over time has not been examined. We propose a conceptual framework and conduct an ecological analysis on the relationship between economic development and weight gain. We also test the hypothesis that weight gain converges among countries over time and examine determinants of weight gains. Study design: A longitudinal study of 34 OECD countries in the years 1980-2008 using publicly available data. Methods: We apply a dynamic economic growth model to test the hypothesis that the rate of weight gains across countries may converge over time. We also investigate the determinants of weight gains using a longitudinal regression tree analysis. Results: We do not find evidence that the growth rates of body weight across countries converged for all countries. However, there were groups of countries in which the growth rates of body weight converge, with five groups for males and seven groups for females. The predicted the growth rates of body weight peak when GDP per capita reaches USD 47,000formalesand47,000 for males and 47,000formalesand37,000 for females in OECD countries. National levels of consumption of sugar, fat and alcohol were the most important contributors to national weight gains. Conclusion: National weight gains follow an inverse U-shape curve with economic development. Excessive calorie intake is the main contributor to weight gains.
Studies in Educational Evaluation, Jun 1, 2023
Applied Economics, Oct 25, 2018
Most of the empirical literature on the relationship between the health condition and skill devel... more Most of the empirical literature on the relationship between the health condition and skill development of school children are based on a static relationship between health and skill development. This paper contributes to the literature by examining the dynamic relationship between stunting and school achievement using data from the first three waves of the Young Lives Survey in Vietnam. Using both structural equation and hybrid estimators, empirical results show that past school performance is the most significant predictor of the academic performance. Stunting has significant negative effect on school performance, and its effect in the long-run is as twice as much its effect in the short-run. The empirical evidence also shows that age of the child, mothers' literacy, access to electricity and household consumption significantly affect school performance.
Sustainability, Mar 27, 2021
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Journal of Biosocial Science, Dec 4, 2017
This paper proposes a new empirical model for examining the relationship between obesity and scho... more This paper proposes a new empirical model for examining the relationship between obesity and school performance using the simultaneous equation modelling approach. The lagged effects of both learning and health outcomes were included to capture both the dynamic and inter-relational aspects of the relationship between obesity and school performance. The empirical application of this study used comprehensive data from the first five waves of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC), which commenced in 2004 (wave 1) and was repeated every two years until 2018. The study sample included 10,000 children, equally divided between two cohorts (infants and children) across Australia. The empirical results show that past learning and obesity status are strongly associated with most indicators of school outcomes, including reading, writing, spelling, grammar and numeracy national tests, and scores from the internationally standardized Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and the Matrix Reasoning Test. The main findings of this study are robust due to the choice of obesity indicator and estimation methods.
Economic Analysis and Policy, Sep 1, 2018
Small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in the Vietnamese economy; hence more ... more Small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in the Vietnamese economy; hence more understanding of their efficiency is of interest for a variety of various stakeholders in Vietnam. This paper estimates technological gaps and identifies factors affecting variations in the technical efficiency of SMEs in Vietnam using firm-level survey data in 2008 in a stochastic meta-frontier framework. We found that, on average, SMEs can increase their current outputs by eight percent using the same quantity of inputs. Firms operating in major cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are found to be more efficient and possess better technology. Our evidence indicates that most SMEs in Vietnam use relatively low-level technologies, evidenced by the higher return from labour and raw materials than that from capital.
Sustainability, Apr 11, 2022
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
xv STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY xvii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xviii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1. THE RESEARC... more xv STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY xvii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xviii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1. THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH AREA 1 1.2. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 3 1.3. SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH 4 1.4. RESEARCH METHODS 4 1.5. STRUCTURE OF THESIS 6 1.6. CHAPTER SUMMARY 8 CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND AND PREVIOUS RESEARCH 9 2.1. OVERVIEW OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND REGIONAL DISPARITIES IN VIETNAM..... 9 2.1.1. Overview of economic development in Vietnam 9 2.1.2. Overview of regional disparities in Vietnam 14
Journal of Economics and Development, Dec 15, 2022
Purpose-Basic income (BI) is predicted to be the major economic intervention in response to raisi... more Purpose-Basic income (BI) is predicted to be the major economic intervention in response to raising income inequality and accelerating technological progress. Financing is often the first question that arises when discussing a BI. A thorough answer to this question will determine the sustainability of any BI program. However, BI experiments implemented worldwide have not answered this question. This paper explores two options for a BI program in Australia: (1) BI and (2) top-up basic income (TBI). Design/methodology/approach-The authors employ "back-of-the-envelope" calculations with the latest publicly available data on income distribution, the poverty line and the share of income tax in the government revenue to estimate the costs of implementing BI in Australia. Findings-Even without any change in the current tax regulations, the TBI option, which requires a contribution of 2-3% disposable income from net contributors, will guarantee that no Australian family lives under the current national poverty line. The BI for all options is not financially feasible under the current tax and transfer regulations because it requires an additional tax rate of at least 42% of disposable income from net contributors. Practical implications-The results of this study can serve as inputs for the design and implementation of BI options in Australia and similar countries. Originality/value-This is the first paper that examines the macroeconomic effects of BI options in Australia.
Studies in Educational Evaluation
Journal of Economics and Development, Dec 15, 2022
Purpose-Basic income (BI) is predicted to be the major economic intervention in response to raisi... more Purpose-Basic income (BI) is predicted to be the major economic intervention in response to raising income inequality and accelerating technological progress. Financing is often the first question that arises when discussing a BI. A thorough answer to this question will determine the sustainability of any BI program. However, BI experiments implemented worldwide have not answered this question. This paper explores two options for a BI program in Australia: (1) BI and (2) top-up basic income (TBI). Design/methodology/approach-The authors employ "back-of-the-envelope" calculations with the latest publicly available data on income distribution, the poverty line and the share of income tax in the government revenue to estimate the costs of implementing BI in Australia. Findings-Even without any change in the current tax regulations, the TBI option, which requires a contribution of 2-3% disposable income from net contributors, will guarantee that no Australian family lives under the current national poverty line. The BI for all options is not financially feasible under the current tax and transfer regulations because it requires an additional tax rate of at least 42% of disposable income from net contributors. Practical implications-The results of this study can serve as inputs for the design and implementation of BI options in Australia and similar countries. Originality/value-This is the first paper that examines the macroeconomic effects of BI options in Australia.
Journal of economic research, 2018
In Vietnamese context , this paper is the first application of Phillips & Sul’s (2007, 2009)’s ap... more In Vietnamese context , this paper is the first application of Phillips & Sul’s (2007, 2009)’s approach to the examination inequality in GDP per capita in a study of 61 Vietnamese provinces covering the period 1990 - 2011. The results show that provincial levels of GDP per capita diverged over the study period , and all provinces could be formed into five convergence sub - groups. However, the result of σ - convergence shows that there was a clear break in the trend around 2004 when it reversed itself. Further insights into the factors underlying the switch from divergence to convergence around 2004 were gained through an analysis of provincial - level data for foreign direct investment, public investment, and central - provincial budgetary transfers. Estimates from an ordered probit model suggest that foreign direct investment, domestic investment, and transfers fr om central to provincial governments have played an important role in forming the sub - groups . Based on these result...
Health Economics Review, 2020
Background Over four million people in Australia have some form of disability, of whom 2.1 millio... more Background Over four million people in Australia have some form of disability, of whom 2.1 million are of working age. This paper estimates the costs of disability in Australia using the standard-of-living approach. This approach defines the cost of disability as additional income required for people with a disability to achieve a similar living standard to those without a disability. We analyse data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey using a hybrid panel data model. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the costs of disability in Australia using a high quality, large, nationally-representative longitudinal data set. Methods This study estimates the costs of disability in Australia by using the Standard of Living (SoL) and a dynamic model approach. It examines the dynamics of disability and income by using lagged disability and income status. The study also controls for unobserved individual heterogeneity and endogen...
Public Health, 2018
Objectives: Obesity has become a global issue with abundant evidence to indicate that the prevale... more Objectives: Obesity has become a global issue with abundant evidence to indicate that the prevalence of obesity in many nations has increased over time. The literature also reports a strong association between obesity and economic development, but the trend that obesity growth rates may converge over time has not been examined. We propose a conceptual framework and conduct an ecological analysis on the relationship between economic development and weight gain. We also test the hypothesis that weight gain converges among countries over time and examine determinants of weight gains. Study design: A longitudinal study of 34 OECD countries in the years 1980-2008 using publicly available data. Methods: We apply a dynamic economic growth model to test the hypothesis that the rate of weight gains across countries may converge over time. We also investigate the determinants of weight gains using a longitudinal regression tree analysis. Results: We do not find evidence that the growth rates of body weight across countries converged for all countries. However, there were groups of countries in which the growth rates of body weight converge, with five groups for males and seven groups for females. The predicted the growth rates of body weight peak when GDP per capita reaches USD 47,000formalesand47,000 for males and 47,000formalesand37,000 for females in OECD countries. National levels of consumption of sugar, fat and alcohol were the most important contributors to national weight gains. Conclusion: National weight gains follow an inverse U-shape curve with economic development. Excessive calorie intake is the main contributor to weight gains.
Sustainability, Apr 11, 2022
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Asian Journal of Empirical Research
Our recent paper (Vu et al., 2016) applied the Phillips and Sul’s method (2007, 2009) and found t... more Our recent paper (Vu et al., 2016) applied the Phillips and Sul’s method (2007, 2009) and found that the 61 provinces of Vietnam were formed in five convergence sub-groups. This current paper identifies trends and patterns of inequality in provincial GDP per capita of each sub-group of provinces in Vietnam during the period 1990-2011. It also analyses the growth path of each province compared with that of the reference economy [Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and the national average]. The results show that there were the downward trends of inequality in GDP per capita of each sub-group. Also, during the period 1990-1994, most provinces diverged from HCMC but during the period 2004-2011, all provinces tended to converge to it. However, there were few poorest provinces, which tend to be located in geographically and economically isolated regions of Vietnam. This paper analyses main characteristics of provinces and key factors affecting the trends and patterns of disparities in GDP per capita...
Journal of biosocial science, Jan 4, 2017
This paper proposes a new empirical model for examining the relationship between obesity and scho... more This paper proposes a new empirical model for examining the relationship between obesity and school performance using the simultaneous equation modelling approach. The lagged effects of both learning and health outcomes were included to capture both the dynamic and inter-relational aspects of the relationship between obesity and school performance. The empirical application of this study used comprehensive data from the first five waves of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC), which commenced in 2004 (wave 1) and was repeated every two years until 2018. The study sample included 10,000 children, equally divided between two cohorts (infants and children) across Australia. The empirical results show that past learning and obesity status are strongly associated with most indicators of school outcomes, including reading, writing, spelling, grammar and numeracy national tests, and scores from the internationally standardized Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and the Matrix ...
This paper investigates whether population and international trade, along with energy consumption... more This paper investigates whether population and international trade, along with energy consumption, are the main factors for environmental damage in China during the period 1971-2011. The stationary analysis is examined by the Zivot-Andrews unit root test and the ARDL bounds testing approach is used for a long run relationship between the series in the presence of structural breaks. The causality between CO2 emissions, energy consumption, economic growth, population and international trade is examined by the VECM Granger causality technique. Our results show that the selected variables are cointegrated; it means that the long run relationship exists in the presence of structural breaks. The empirical findings indicate that in long run, energy consumption and population increase CO2 emissions, while in short run, energy consumption and international trade decrease CO2 emissions. The VECM causality analysis shows that CO2 emissions Granger cause energy consumption, while energy consumption and population Granger cause trade. The VECM analysis also indicates the feedback hypothesis between trade and CO2 emissions. Policy recommendations are made following the obtained results.
Faculty of Health; Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Sep 1, 2015
This paper examines output disparities between the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation countries du... more This paper examines output disparities between the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation countries during the period 1990~2011. The results show that inter-country levels of output per capita diverged over the study period but there was a clear break in the trend around 1998. Applying the time-varying individual common factor model, we found that all countries could be grouped into three convergence clubs. Focusing on the time path of each country's output level relative to that of a reference economy such as the United States of America and allowing for possible structural breaks, we found that more countries converged towards the USA during the sub-period 1999~2011. The findings also suggest that the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation could have played some role in diminishing the output inequality between its member countries after the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation reached its current extent in 1998. Likewise, the paper suggests a need to reduce the wide income gap among the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation countries to promote their economic integration.
Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, Oct 17, 2019
Background Estimating the costs of mental illness provides useful policy and managerial informati... more Background Estimating the costs of mental illness provides useful policy and managerial information to improve the quality of life of people living with a mental illness and their families. Objective This paper estimates the costs of mental health in Australia using the standard-ofliving approach. Methods The cost of mental illness was estimated implicitly using a standard of living approach. We analyse data from 16 waves of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey (HILDA) using 209,871 observations. Unobserved heterogeneity was mitigated using an extended random-effects estimator. Results The equivalised disposable income of people with mental illness, measured by a selfreported mental health condition, needs to be 50% higher to achieve a similar living standard as those without a mental illness. The cost estimates vary considerably with measures of mental illness and standard of living. An alternative measure of mental illness using the first quintile of the SF-36 mental health score distribution resulted in an increase of estimated costs to 80% equivalised disposable income. Conclusion People with mental illness need to increase equivalised disposable income, which includes existing financial supports, by 50%-80% to achieve a similar level of financial satisfaction as those without a mental illness. The cost estimate can be substantially higher if the overall life satisfaction is used to proxy for standard of living.
Public Health, Jun 1, 2018
Objectives: Obesity has become a global issue with abundant evidence to indicate that the prevale... more Objectives: Obesity has become a global issue with abundant evidence to indicate that the prevalence of obesity in many nations has increased over time. The literature also reports a strong association between obesity and economic development, but the trend that obesity growth rates may converge over time has not been examined. We propose a conceptual framework and conduct an ecological analysis on the relationship between economic development and weight gain. We also test the hypothesis that weight gain converges among countries over time and examine determinants of weight gains. Study design: A longitudinal study of 34 OECD countries in the years 1980-2008 using publicly available data. Methods: We apply a dynamic economic growth model to test the hypothesis that the rate of weight gains across countries may converge over time. We also investigate the determinants of weight gains using a longitudinal regression tree analysis. Results: We do not find evidence that the growth rates of body weight across countries converged for all countries. However, there were groups of countries in which the growth rates of body weight converge, with five groups for males and seven groups for females. The predicted the growth rates of body weight peak when GDP per capita reaches USD 47,000formalesand47,000 for males and 47,000formalesand37,000 for females in OECD countries. National levels of consumption of sugar, fat and alcohol were the most important contributors to national weight gains. Conclusion: National weight gains follow an inverse U-shape curve with economic development. Excessive calorie intake is the main contributor to weight gains.
Studies in Educational Evaluation, Jun 1, 2023
Applied Economics, Oct 25, 2018
Most of the empirical literature on the relationship between the health condition and skill devel... more Most of the empirical literature on the relationship between the health condition and skill development of school children are based on a static relationship between health and skill development. This paper contributes to the literature by examining the dynamic relationship between stunting and school achievement using data from the first three waves of the Young Lives Survey in Vietnam. Using both structural equation and hybrid estimators, empirical results show that past school performance is the most significant predictor of the academic performance. Stunting has significant negative effect on school performance, and its effect in the long-run is as twice as much its effect in the short-run. The empirical evidence also shows that age of the child, mothers' literacy, access to electricity and household consumption significantly affect school performance.
Sustainability, Mar 27, 2021
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Journal of Biosocial Science, Dec 4, 2017
This paper proposes a new empirical model for examining the relationship between obesity and scho... more This paper proposes a new empirical model for examining the relationship between obesity and school performance using the simultaneous equation modelling approach. The lagged effects of both learning and health outcomes were included to capture both the dynamic and inter-relational aspects of the relationship between obesity and school performance. The empirical application of this study used comprehensive data from the first five waves of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC), which commenced in 2004 (wave 1) and was repeated every two years until 2018. The study sample included 10,000 children, equally divided between two cohorts (infants and children) across Australia. The empirical results show that past learning and obesity status are strongly associated with most indicators of school outcomes, including reading, writing, spelling, grammar and numeracy national tests, and scores from the internationally standardized Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and the Matrix Reasoning Test. The main findings of this study are robust due to the choice of obesity indicator and estimation methods.
Economic Analysis and Policy, Sep 1, 2018
Small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in the Vietnamese economy; hence more ... more Small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in the Vietnamese economy; hence more understanding of their efficiency is of interest for a variety of various stakeholders in Vietnam. This paper estimates technological gaps and identifies factors affecting variations in the technical efficiency of SMEs in Vietnam using firm-level survey data in 2008 in a stochastic meta-frontier framework. We found that, on average, SMEs can increase their current outputs by eight percent using the same quantity of inputs. Firms operating in major cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are found to be more efficient and possess better technology. Our evidence indicates that most SMEs in Vietnam use relatively low-level technologies, evidenced by the higher return from labour and raw materials than that from capital.
Sustainability, Apr 11, 2022
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
xv STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY xvii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xviii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1. THE RESEARC... more xv STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY xvii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xviii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1. THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH AREA 1 1.2. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 3 1.3. SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH 4 1.4. RESEARCH METHODS 4 1.5. STRUCTURE OF THESIS 6 1.6. CHAPTER SUMMARY 8 CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND AND PREVIOUS RESEARCH 9 2.1. OVERVIEW OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND REGIONAL DISPARITIES IN VIETNAM..... 9 2.1.1. Overview of economic development in Vietnam 9 2.1.2. Overview of regional disparities in Vietnam 14
Journal of Economics and Development, Dec 15, 2022
Purpose-Basic income (BI) is predicted to be the major economic intervention in response to raisi... more Purpose-Basic income (BI) is predicted to be the major economic intervention in response to raising income inequality and accelerating technological progress. Financing is often the first question that arises when discussing a BI. A thorough answer to this question will determine the sustainability of any BI program. However, BI experiments implemented worldwide have not answered this question. This paper explores two options for a BI program in Australia: (1) BI and (2) top-up basic income (TBI). Design/methodology/approach-The authors employ "back-of-the-envelope" calculations with the latest publicly available data on income distribution, the poverty line and the share of income tax in the government revenue to estimate the costs of implementing BI in Australia. Findings-Even without any change in the current tax regulations, the TBI option, which requires a contribution of 2-3% disposable income from net contributors, will guarantee that no Australian family lives under the current national poverty line. The BI for all options is not financially feasible under the current tax and transfer regulations because it requires an additional tax rate of at least 42% of disposable income from net contributors. Practical implications-The results of this study can serve as inputs for the design and implementation of BI options in Australia and similar countries. Originality/value-This is the first paper that examines the macroeconomic effects of BI options in Australia.
Studies in Educational Evaluation
Journal of Economics and Development, Dec 15, 2022
Purpose-Basic income (BI) is predicted to be the major economic intervention in response to raisi... more Purpose-Basic income (BI) is predicted to be the major economic intervention in response to raising income inequality and accelerating technological progress. Financing is often the first question that arises when discussing a BI. A thorough answer to this question will determine the sustainability of any BI program. However, BI experiments implemented worldwide have not answered this question. This paper explores two options for a BI program in Australia: (1) BI and (2) top-up basic income (TBI). Design/methodology/approach-The authors employ "back-of-the-envelope" calculations with the latest publicly available data on income distribution, the poverty line and the share of income tax in the government revenue to estimate the costs of implementing BI in Australia. Findings-Even without any change in the current tax regulations, the TBI option, which requires a contribution of 2-3% disposable income from net contributors, will guarantee that no Australian family lives under the current national poverty line. The BI for all options is not financially feasible under the current tax and transfer regulations because it requires an additional tax rate of at least 42% of disposable income from net contributors. Practical implications-The results of this study can serve as inputs for the design and implementation of BI options in Australia and similar countries. Originality/value-This is the first paper that examines the macroeconomic effects of BI options in Australia.
Journal of economic research, 2018
In Vietnamese context , this paper is the first application of Phillips & Sul’s (2007, 2009)’s ap... more In Vietnamese context , this paper is the first application of Phillips & Sul’s (2007, 2009)’s approach to the examination inequality in GDP per capita in a study of 61 Vietnamese provinces covering the period 1990 - 2011. The results show that provincial levels of GDP per capita diverged over the study period , and all provinces could be formed into five convergence sub - groups. However, the result of σ - convergence shows that there was a clear break in the trend around 2004 when it reversed itself. Further insights into the factors underlying the switch from divergence to convergence around 2004 were gained through an analysis of provincial - level data for foreign direct investment, public investment, and central - provincial budgetary transfers. Estimates from an ordered probit model suggest that foreign direct investment, domestic investment, and transfers fr om central to provincial governments have played an important role in forming the sub - groups . Based on these result...
Health Economics Review, 2020
Background Over four million people in Australia have some form of disability, of whom 2.1 millio... more Background Over four million people in Australia have some form of disability, of whom 2.1 million are of working age. This paper estimates the costs of disability in Australia using the standard-of-living approach. This approach defines the cost of disability as additional income required for people with a disability to achieve a similar living standard to those without a disability. We analyse data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey using a hybrid panel data model. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the costs of disability in Australia using a high quality, large, nationally-representative longitudinal data set. Methods This study estimates the costs of disability in Australia by using the Standard of Living (SoL) and a dynamic model approach. It examines the dynamics of disability and income by using lagged disability and income status. The study also controls for unobserved individual heterogeneity and endogen...
Public Health, 2018
Objectives: Obesity has become a global issue with abundant evidence to indicate that the prevale... more Objectives: Obesity has become a global issue with abundant evidence to indicate that the prevalence of obesity in many nations has increased over time. The literature also reports a strong association between obesity and economic development, but the trend that obesity growth rates may converge over time has not been examined. We propose a conceptual framework and conduct an ecological analysis on the relationship between economic development and weight gain. We also test the hypothesis that weight gain converges among countries over time and examine determinants of weight gains. Study design: A longitudinal study of 34 OECD countries in the years 1980-2008 using publicly available data. Methods: We apply a dynamic economic growth model to test the hypothesis that the rate of weight gains across countries may converge over time. We also investigate the determinants of weight gains using a longitudinal regression tree analysis. Results: We do not find evidence that the growth rates of body weight across countries converged for all countries. However, there were groups of countries in which the growth rates of body weight converge, with five groups for males and seven groups for females. The predicted the growth rates of body weight peak when GDP per capita reaches USD 47,000formalesand47,000 for males and 47,000formalesand37,000 for females in OECD countries. National levels of consumption of sugar, fat and alcohol were the most important contributors to national weight gains. Conclusion: National weight gains follow an inverse U-shape curve with economic development. Excessive calorie intake is the main contributor to weight gains.
Sustainability, Apr 11, 2022
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Asian Journal of Empirical Research
Our recent paper (Vu et al., 2016) applied the Phillips and Sul’s method (2007, 2009) and found t... more Our recent paper (Vu et al., 2016) applied the Phillips and Sul’s method (2007, 2009) and found that the 61 provinces of Vietnam were formed in five convergence sub-groups. This current paper identifies trends and patterns of inequality in provincial GDP per capita of each sub-group of provinces in Vietnam during the period 1990-2011. It also analyses the growth path of each province compared with that of the reference economy [Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and the national average]. The results show that there were the downward trends of inequality in GDP per capita of each sub-group. Also, during the period 1990-1994, most provinces diverged from HCMC but during the period 2004-2011, all provinces tended to converge to it. However, there were few poorest provinces, which tend to be located in geographically and economically isolated regions of Vietnam. This paper analyses main characteristics of provinces and key factors affecting the trends and patterns of disparities in GDP per capita...
Journal of biosocial science, Jan 4, 2017
This paper proposes a new empirical model for examining the relationship between obesity and scho... more This paper proposes a new empirical model for examining the relationship between obesity and school performance using the simultaneous equation modelling approach. The lagged effects of both learning and health outcomes were included to capture both the dynamic and inter-relational aspects of the relationship between obesity and school performance. The empirical application of this study used comprehensive data from the first five waves of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC), which commenced in 2004 (wave 1) and was repeated every two years until 2018. The study sample included 10,000 children, equally divided between two cohorts (infants and children) across Australia. The empirical results show that past learning and obesity status are strongly associated with most indicators of school outcomes, including reading, writing, spelling, grammar and numeracy national tests, and scores from the internationally standardized Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and the Matrix ...
This paper investigates whether population and international trade, along with energy consumption... more This paper investigates whether population and international trade, along with energy consumption, are the main factors for environmental damage in China during the period 1971-2011. The stationary analysis is examined by the Zivot-Andrews unit root test and the ARDL bounds testing approach is used for a long run relationship between the series in the presence of structural breaks. The causality between CO2 emissions, energy consumption, economic growth, population and international trade is examined by the VECM Granger causality technique. Our results show that the selected variables are cointegrated; it means that the long run relationship exists in the presence of structural breaks. The empirical findings indicate that in long run, energy consumption and population increase CO2 emissions, while in short run, energy consumption and international trade decrease CO2 emissions. The VECM causality analysis shows that CO2 emissions Granger cause energy consumption, while energy consumption and population Granger cause trade. The VECM analysis also indicates the feedback hypothesis between trade and CO2 emissions. Policy recommendations are made following the obtained results.