Suchergebnisse

Abstract
Australia's "Transition to Retirement Income Streams" (TRIS) program aims to prolong labor force participation for older workers (aged 55–65 years) by offering early access to a worker's compulsory retirement savings (superannuation). Using a difference-in-differences design, our results suggest a small labor supply response, which increases after the program's initial years. The size of the effects appears to be consistent with the program adoption profile, which was low initially. For this reason, our estimates should be viewed as a lower bound for the true effects. We find that individuals with higher incomes are more likely to adopt TRIS. At least half of the program participants appear to be using strategies to minimize tax, a behavioral response that seems at odds with the program's intent.

Context Little is known about the importance of bait-site selection during lethal fox-baiting programmes. Improved bait placement may increase the efficacy of baiting and help reduce fox impacts on wildlife and livestock. Aims To determine whether bait uptake by the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) differed among five landscape elements (roadsides, fence lines, open paddocks, creek lines and remnant vegetation) and at sites with high or low habitat (ground cover) complexity. Methods We measured bait uptake at 300 bait stations distributed evenly among the landscape elements in agricultural landscapes in northern Victoria, Australia. Bait uptake was also compared between sites with low and high habitat complexity in districts subject to no fox control and annual fox control. Key results Among landscape elements, bait uptake was significantly higher in roadside vegetation and along vegetated creek lines than it was along fence lines and in open paddocks (P < 0.05 in each case). Within roadside vegetation, bait uptake was significantly (P = 0.001) lower at sites with a high habitat complexity than at sites with low complexity, particularly in areas subject to annual fox control. Conclusions Bait placement influences bait-uptake rates considerably and greater consideration should be placed on bait-site selection during fox-baiting programmes. Habitat complexity limited bait uptake, which may indicate a reduced capacity of foxes to find baits in complex habitats. Implications Our results should help improve bait-site selection in agricultural landscapes and may increase the efficacy of fox baiting to the benefit of native fauna and livestock.

AbstractThe Australian Taxation Office Longitudinal Information Files: Individuals (ALife: Individuals), is one of the most comprehensive tax administrative datasets in the world. The ALife: Individuals dataset, which currently covers the period 1990‒1991 to 2017‒2018, is based on a 10 per cent longitudinal sample of administrative unit‐record personal income tax data. This new, high quality, longitudinal, de‐identified, research‐ready dataset is available to approved researchers through secure environments that safeguard taxpayers' information. The availability of ALife: Individuals opens exciting new possibilities for public policy research and evaluation that will improve understanding of taxpayer behaviour and support policy development and its administration.

Context The introduced red fox has driven the decline or extinction of numerous wildlife species in Australia, yet little information exists on the population densities of foxes in most ecosystems. Fox monitoring programs will differ widely depending on the goals of management, which, in turn, will determine whether the appropriate metric is a density estimate, or some proxy thereof, and the time and resources required. Aims This study aims to assist wildlife managers to design fit-for-purpose monitoring programs for foxes by providing a better understanding of the utility and precision of various monitoring methods. Methods We surveyed foxes monthly over four consecutive years in a semi-arid region of Australia by using sand plots, camera traps and GPS telemetry. The resultant data were used to produce population estimates from one count-based method, two spatially explicit methods, and two activity indices. Key results The incorporation of GPS-collar data into the spatial capture–recapture approaches greatly reduced uncertainty in estimates of abundance. Activity indices from sand plots were generally higher and more variable than were indices derived from camera traps, whereas estimates from N-mixture models appeared to be biased high. Conclusions Our study indicated that the Allen–Engeman index derived from camera-trap data provided an accurate reflection of change in the underlying fox density, even as density declined towards zero following introduction of lethal control. This method provides an efficient means to detect large shifts in abundance, whether up or down, which may trigger a change to more laborious, but precise, population monitoring methods. If accuracy is paramount (e.g. for reintroduction programs) spatially explicit methods augmented with GPS data provide robust estimates, albeit at a greater cost in resources and expertise than does an index. Implications Our study demonstrated that the shorter the survey period is, the greater is the likelihood that foxes are present but not detected. As such, if limited resources are available, longer monitoring periods conducted less frequently will provide a more accurate reflection of the underlying fox population than do shorter monitoring periods conducted more often.