Labour and Population Economics

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Labour and Population Economics Motu’s labour and population research explores the economic effects of migration, outcomes for a range of population groups, and labour market dynamics at a microeconomic level. Our development work focuses on the pacific and Russia.

Publications
Presentations
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Researchers
Useful links

Linked Employer-Employee Data (LEED) research report

Grimes, Arthur, Robert MacCulloch, Les Oxley and Nicholas Tarrant. 2012. "Does Money Buy Me Love? Testing Alternative Measures of National Wellbeing," presented to the International Wellbeing Conference, Wellington, June 2012, and the New Zealand Association of Economists Annual Conference, Palmerston North, June 2012.
Stillman, Steven. 2011. "Miserable Migrants? Natural Experiment Evidence on International Migration and Subjective Well-Being," Australasian Labour Econometrics Workshop, Melbourne, Australia, 13-14 August 2010, and Engelberg Labor Economics Workshop, University of Zurich, Engelberg, Switzerland, 12-14 January 2011.
Stillman, Steven. 2011. "Age at Migration and Educational Achievement across the OECD: Insights from PISA," Insights on Immigration and Development Workshop, Barcelona, 27-8 June 2011.
Olssen, Alex. 2011. "The Short Run Effect of Age Based Youth Minimum Wages in Australia: A Regression Discontinuity Approach (Slides)," New Zealand Association of Economists Annual Conference, Wellington, 29 June-1 July 2011.
Olssen, Alex. "The Short-Run Effects of Age Based Youth Minimum Wages in Australia: A Regression Discontinuity Approach," New Zealand Association of Economists Annual Conference, Wellington, 29 June-1 July 2011. Available online from http://www.nzae.org.nz/conferences/2011/programme.html.
McDonald, Hugh, and Andrew Coleman. 2011. "No Country for Old Men: Trans-Tasman Income Patterns, 1981-2009," New Zealand Association of Economists Annual Conference, Wellington, 29 June-1 July 2011.
Grangier, Juliette, and Rob Hodgson. 2011. "Does the SMC Predict the Labour Market Outcomes of Skilled Migrants?" New Zealand Association of Economists Annual Conference, Wellington, 29 June-1 July 2011. Available online from http://www.nzae.org.nz/conferences/2011/programme.html.
Roskruge, Matthew, Arthur Grimes, Philip McCann and Jacques Poot. 2011. "Immigrant Integration and Social Capital Formation," New Zealand Association of Economists Annual Conference, Wellington, 29 June-1 July 2011. Available online from http://www.nzae.org.nz/conferences/2011/programme.html.
Stillman, Steven. 2010. "Immigration and Innovation," Australian and International Perspectives on the Economics of Immigration, University of Melbourne and Melbourne Institute, Melbourne, Australia, 19 November 2010.
Stillman, Steven. 2010. Panel and Longitudinal Data: Methods and Applications Workshop, University of Melbourne and Melbourne Institute, Melbourne, Australia, April 2010, “Longitudinal evidence on the impact of crime victimisation on individual wellbeing”
Gibson, John, McKenzie, David, Stillman, Steven and Rohorua, Halahingano. 2010. European Society for Population Economics Annual Conference, Essen, Germany, June 2010, “Natural Experiment Evidence on the Effect of Migration on Blood Pressure and Hypertension.”
Mackenzie, David, Gibson, John and Stillman, Steven. 2010. Insights on Immigration and Development Workshop, Barcelona, Spain, June 2010, “A Land of Milk and Honey with Streets Paved with Gold: Do Emigrants Have Over-Optimistic Expectations about Incomes Abroad?”
Stillman, Steven. 2010. “Which Tongans move to New Zealand via the Pacific Assess Category quota, and how does it change their lives?” Wellington Public Policy Seminar, May.
Gibson, John, Mckenzie, David and Stillman, Steven. 2009. World Bank Migration and Development Conference, Washington, D.C., USA, September 2009, “Selectivity and the Estimated Impact of Emigration on Incomes and Poverty in Sending Areas: Evidence from the Samoan Quota Migration Lottery.”
Stillman, Steven and David C. Maré. 2009. “Labour Market Outcomes for Immigrants in New Zealand” in Philip S. Morrison (ed.) Proceedings of the 2008 Joint Labour, Employment and Work and Australian Labour Market Research Workshop Conference. Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington: 133-46.
Velamuri, Malathi and Steven Stillman. 2009. “The Impact of Crime Victimisation on Individual Well-Being: Evidence from Australia” in Philip S. Morrison (ed.) Proceedings of the 2008 Joint Labour, Employment and Work and Australian Labour Market Research Workshop Conference. Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington: 583-95.
Gibson, John. 2009. 'Why do most of NZ’s best and brightest leave and what brings some of them back?' Motu Public Policy Seminar, February.
Hyslop, Dean. 2008. 'Does cyclical employment growth lower wages?' Motu Public Policy Seminar, June.
Stillman, Steven. 2005. "The Impact of Minimum Wages on the New Zealand Labour Market: Lessons from the 2001 Youth Minimum Wage Reform," Motu Public Policy Seminar Series, Wellington, 21 July 2005.
Stillman, Seven. 2010. Saving and Wealth Accumulation by Immigrant and Native Households Workshop, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, December 2009, “Changes in the Distribution of Wealth in New Zealand between 2004 and 2006,” invited talk.
Oaxaca, Ronald. 2010. "The Challenge of Measuring Labour Market Discrimination Against Women". Wellington Public Policy Seminar, July.
Sheppard, Stephen. 2009. “The Economics of Liveable and Sustainable Cities,” Motu Public Policy Seminar, June.
Maani, Sholeh. 2009. "The Economic Impact of High Human Capital Immigration on the NZ Labour Market," Motu Economic and Public Policy Seminar, April.
Bedford, Richard. 2009. International migration in Kiribati and Tuvalu: A context for evaluating the impact of global warming on population movement in atoll territories," Motu Public Policy Seminar, Wellington, March (photographs removed to reduce file size).
Poot, Jacques. 2007. "Twenty years of econometric research on trans-Tasman migration," Motu Public Policy Seminar, November.
Lavy, Victor. 2008. "Monetary incentives for students and teachers in schools: experimental evidence and policy implications,” Motu Public Policy Seminar, January.
Mays, Nicholas. 2008. "Did New Labour ‘save’ the English National Health Service: a ten-year retrospective, 1997-2007," Motu Public Policy Seminar, April.
Clark, William A. V. 2008. "Spatial Relocation as an Instrument of Social Policy," Motu Public Policy Seminar, July.
Jenkins, Sjtephen. 2008. "The Dynamics of Social Assistance Receipt: Measurement and Modelling Issues, with an Application to Britain" Motu Public Policy Seminar, October.

Richard Fabling
John Gibson
Steven Stillman

Longitudinal Household Survey

three people, in silhouette, walking along a beach This project evaluates the case for a new longitudinal household survey in New Zealand, and sets out issues and options for its design, governance, and administration. Such a survey would make a valuable contribution to New Zealand’s social science infrastructure.

Migration

Motu researchers are involved in a range of projects examining migration in a New Zealand context. Motu’s migration research includes two projects, the Pacific Island-New Zealand Migration Survey and the Impact of Immigration on New Zealanders. We have also published research on immigrant outcomes in New Zealand.

Individual and Group Outcomes

Our research programmes have implications for many individuals and groups in New Zealand. In this section you will find publications related to youth, the elderly, Aucklanders, Maori and university graduates.

Firm Performance and Labour Dynamics

Motu’s labour market research makes use of a Statistics New Zealand data set, the Linked Employer-Employee Database (LEED). LEED contains longitudinal data collected via tax records for workers and firms in all sectors of the economy.

Development

Because of increased globalisation in recent decades, many less-developed countries have become more integrated into world markets. This integration has brought a higher risk of exposure to economic fluctuations and, in some cases, dramatic economic crises.

Motu Economic and Public Policy Research