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AbstractNew Zealanders can cross borders freely, work and live in Australia indefinitely thanks to the Trans‐Tasman Travel Agreement. This paper uses a recently developed decomposition method to decompose the weekly wage gap at various quantiles on the wage distribution between New Zealand‐born (NZ‐born) and Australian‐born workers, and between NZ‐born workers, migrants from other English speaking countries (OESC), and from non‐English speaking countries (NESC) to determine how free and regulated migration influences migrants' performance in the Australian labour market. We found that NZ‐born workers earned higher weekly wages than both Australian‐born and NESC workers but earned lower wages than OESC migrants. Differences in endowment were primarily responsible for the wage gaps between NZ‐born and Australian‐born workers and between NZ‐born and OESC migrants. However, differences in returns to worker and job characteristics are mainly responsible for the wage gap between NZ‐born and NESC migrants.

AbstractAustralia is a multi-cultural society, with the majority of recent migrants arriving from non-English speaking Asian countries. Yet we know little about how ethnic diversity in the population is reflected in employment participation and within-family time exchange. This paper investigates how nonmarket time and labour market time vary across migrant groups from non-English speaking country backgrounds (NESCB) compared with English-speaking country background migrants and non-Indigenous Australians (ESB&AU). It uses a longitudinal instrumental variable method to deal with biases caused by endogeneity and unobserved heterogeneity. We find that nonmarket time is strongly influenced by family circumstances such as having young children and partner's circumstances (health status and life events including health shocks). The relationship of these factors with nonmarket time varies across our two major groups. For example, the relationship between a partner's life events and partner's health status and the other partner's nonmarket time are significantly greater for NESCB migrant couples than for ESB&AU couples. This connects with our initial theories about the collectivist cultural backgrounds in NESCB couples in maintaining gender roles or different levels of economic security facing NESB migrants that affect how they allocate caregiving and housework time, especially when a partner becomes ill or face a life event. This paper also shows clear evidence of health selection into the labour market, and a strong trade-off between nonmarket and market time in both groups.

AbstractUsing nationally representative data from Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia, this paper examines the impact of poor health, family impaired health and family time on the labour market participation of couples aged 25–64. We address sample selection bias and endogeneity bias by employing instrumental variable Tobit models. Our findings indicate that health selection into the labour market occurs not only due to individual's own health but also due to other family members' health, and family time—which is largely determined by various family factors such as a presence of preschool children (childcare) and partner's major life events. We find a significant trade‐off between family unpaid time and labour market participation, which is augmented after correcting for endogeneity of family unpaid time in market time consideration. This supports our argument that health selection should be considered within the family context, in which each member makes decisions conditional not only on their own but also other family members' health and time resources.

AbstractThis study examines the role of private sector development (PSD) in multidimensional poverty alleviation in Vietnam, using provincial panel data for the 2010–2019 period. PSD is measured as the proportion of the workforce in (i) all private firms, (ii) domestic private firms, and (iii) multinational firms, respectively. We use a two‐step general method of moment estimator to account for unobservable heterogeneity, simultaneity, and the relationship between current provincial characteristics and past provincial poverty. We find that each percentage point increase in private sector employment contributes to a reduction of 0.30% and 0.31% in multidimensional poverty and monetary poverty, respectively. Notably, further analysis confirms that a similar effect is also found for both domestic private and multinational enterprises. In addition, our study finds that economic growth and educational attainment emerge as major factors mitigating multidimensional and unidimensional poverty, while income inequality increases both poverty measures.

Purpose– Little econometric evidence exists on the determinants of nonfarm participation among ethnic minorities in Vietnam. The purpose of this paper is to examine the intensity of nonfarm participation and its correlates among ethnic minority households in Northwest Mountains – the poorest region of Vietnam.Design/methodology/approach– Factors affecting the level of nonfarm participation were examined by using a fractional logit model. In addition, regression analysis using analysis of variance models were used to compare the mean of household characteristics and assets between households with and without nonfarm employment.Findings– The study found that households depended heavily on agriculture for subsistence and their access to nonfarm employment is very limited. Households with nonfarm employment had much higher levels of education, income, assets and a much lower level of poverty than those without nonfarm participation. The intensity of nonfarm participation is positively associated with education levels, proportion of male working members and fixed assets but negatively correlated with the size of annual crop land and water surface for aquaculture. Also, the presence of nonfarm opportunities and paved roads in a commune increases the intensity of nonfarm participation for households living in that commune.Practical implications– The findings suggest that any poverty alleviation policies should aim at improving the access of ethnic minorities to education and nonfarm job opportunities.Originality/value– The study offers the first evidence of factors affecting the intensity of nonfarm participation among ethnic minorities in the study area.

This study examines the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI), institutional quality and human development) in host countries from 2002 to 2019, using the Human Development Index [HDI] as the measure of human development. This study utilized a panel dataset of 143 countries, including both developed and developing economies, over a 17-year period. Additionally, the study employed a GMM (generalized method of moments) estimator to address unobservable heterogeneity and simultaneity. This study reveals a significant positive relationship between FDI and human development, with a stronger effect observed in developing countries compared to in developed countries. Notably, the impact of FDI-HDI nexus is larger in countries with moderately high-quality institutions, irrespective of their income level. Furthermore, good governance plays a crucial role in enhancing human development, as developing economies with high governance quality experience a greater impact of FDI on HDI compared to other countries. The findings of this study suggest that attracting FDI can be beneficial for enhancing the HDI, especially in developing countries. Additionally, the study highlights governance as a moderating factor in the relationship between FDI and HDI. Improving governance quality can enhance the positive impact of FDI on human development in host countries, especially in developing countries.