April
Did program support for the poorest areas work? Evidence from rural Vietnam
Hai-Anh H. Dang, World Bank
11am–12.30pm
The study investigates a poverty alleviation program in Vietnam’s poorest districts, finding no significant impact on household welfare but noting a shift from farm to nonfarm employment and increased nonfarm income, potentially due to improved credit access. While there’s no notable effect on children’s education, the program boosts healthcare utilization and offers more educational subsidies.
April
Papua New Guinea’s fiscal decentralisation: Lessons from the last 15 years
Maholopa Laveil, Economics Lecturer, University of Papua New Guinea
1.30–2.30pm
Fiscal decentralisation in PNG has been a contentious topic for much of the country’s history.This month’s ANU-UPNG seminar focuses on the weaknesses in the decentralisation process and how these mechanisms can be strengthened.
April
Measuring global economic activity using air pollution
Martin Rama, the former World Bank Chief Economist for the South Asia region
11am–12.30pm
This paper presents a novel method for assessing global economic activity by analyzing satellite data on nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution, offering a more accurate alternative to night light measures, especially in regions with unreliable national accounts. It highlights the unreliability of current GDP rankings, even in advanced economies, and introduces a methodological advancement that mitigates error-in-variables biases by leveraging the distinct measurement errors between NO2 and night lights.
April
Global tax consensus: Can it survive?
Tue 9 April, 7PM - 8:30PM, US East Coast time; SPEAKERS: Tom Barthold (Joint Committee on Taxation, US Congress); David Bradbury (OECD); Viva Hammer (Brandeis University, & ANU); Michael Plowgian (formerly Office of Tax Policy, US Treasury)
9–10.30am
Join Tom Barthold (US Congress) David Bradbury (OECD) and Michael Plowgian (Office of Tax Policy, US Treasury) debating the future of the global tax system, moderated by Viva Hammer (ANU, formerly US Congress and US Treasury).
April
Postharvest losses from weather and climate change: Evidence from 1.2 million truckloads
Sarah Smith, University of California, Davis
2–3.30pm
Using data from California, this seminar will explore the effects of temperatures on tomatoes in transit.
April
Stepped on by stamp duty: The effect of housing transaction taxes on home purchases and people movement
Mr Aaron Wong, e61 Institute
4–5pm
This paper quantifies the effect of housing transaction taxes (i.e. ‘stamp duty’) on housing mobility.
April
Information campaign on arsenic poisoning: Unintended consequences in marriage market
Shyamal Chowdhury, University of Sydney
2–3.30pm
The seminar will discuss the unintended consequences of a public information campaign on water quality that was rolled out in the early 2000s on the marriage market in rural Bangladesh.
May
Are government ministers in Papua New Guinea more likely to be re-elected?
Alyssa Leng, Research Officer, ANU
12.30–1.30pm
Being a government minister is often seen in in Papua New Guinea (PNG) as providing a resource and reputational advantage for parliamentarians running for re-election.
May
Politicians on trial: Rebuilding judicial legitimacy in Malaysia (2018-2024)
Amalina Yasmin Mohd Sokri (speaker) Associate Professor Grant Walton (Moderator)
12.30–1.30pm
This presentation will explore a PhD project aiming to understand how the Federal Court in Malaysia frames its communication with the public in high-profile political cases, and what reception it receives among the media, civil society and the legal profession at large.
June
4th Australian Workshop on Public Finance
Various as per program
9am–5pm
The 2024 Australian Workshop on Public Finance is hosted by the Tax and Transfer Policy Institute, Australian National University, ANU.
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