Department of the Treasury

This paper examines the effect of antecedents (such as task exceptions and task analysability) and consequences (such as job-relevant information, budget goal level, budget goal acceptance and budget goal commitment) of budgetary participation on job performance. The responses of 135 middle-level managers, drawn from a cross- section of manufacturing firms, to a survey questionnaire, were analysed by using a structural equation modelling (SEM) technique. The results of this study suggest that task exceptions and task analysability are important antecedents of budgetary participation. The results further suggest that the cognitive effect of participation in goal- setting allows subordinates to gather, exchange and share job-relevant information. The availability of job-relevant information allows subordinates to develop effective strategies or plans, which will help them to exert effort over time, in an attempt to attain their goals. The results support the proposition that setting difficult but attainable budget goals increases subordinates? budget goal level, acceptance, and commitment to the budget goal, which in turn improves job performance.

In the contemporary landscape of rapidly evolving technological advancements and the increasing prevalence of cyber threats, organizations face a critical imperative to align their accounting practices with robust cybersecurity measures. This review explores the symbiotic relationship between accounting and cybersecurity in safeguarding data confidentiality and ensuring financial security. Focusing on the intersection of these two domains, we examine the strategic alignment required to fortify organizations against the escalating challenges posed by cyber threats to sensitive financial information. The review begins by delving into the intricate connection between accounting processes and the protection of financial data, emphasizing the pivotal role of accurate financial reporting and transparent disclosure in maintaining stakeholder trust. Subsequently, it scrutinizes the evolving threat landscape, identifying cyber risks that specifically target financial systems and data. The analysis underscores the need for a comprehensive strategic approach that integrates accounting practices with cybersecurity protocols to effectively mitigate these risks. Furthermore, the review investigates the contemporary tools and technologies that facilitate the integration of accounting and cybersecurity, enhancing organizations' ability to detect, prevent, and respond to cyber threats. It explores the adoption of advanced encryption methods, intrusion detection systems, and artificial intelligence-driven analytics to bolster data confidentiality and financial security. In examining case studies and best practices, this review highlights successful instances of organizations aligning accounting and cybersecurity strategies to achieve a cohesive defense against financial cyber threats. Lessons learned from these cases offer valuable insights for practitioners and decision-makers seeking to implement effective measures within their own organizational contexts. Ultimately, this review contributes to the evolving discourse on strategic alignment by emphasizing the imperative of synergizing accounting practices with cybersecurity initiatives. As organizations navigate an increasingly complex and interconnected business environment, a holistic approach that unifies financial integrity and cyber resilience becomes paramount for ensuring sustained success and safeguarding against the multifaceted challenges of the digital age.

Break crops (e.g. pulses, lupins, canola, oats) underpin the continued profitability of cereal (wheat or barley) based cropping sequences. The area sown on farms to break crops varies widely across geographical regions according to climate, soil type mix, enterprise mix (crop v. livestock), and other constraints such as the prevalence of soil-borne disease. Given recent fluctuations in the area of established break crops in Western Australia, there are concerns about their long-term prospects in the farming system. A survey of the area and grain yield of break crops on-farm was combined with whole-farm bio-economic modelling to determine the upper limit to the area of break crops on representative farms in 4 agro-climatic regions. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to ascertain the potential effects of varying commodity prices (sheep and grain), costs of production, and assumptions on the yield of break crops and the boost to the yield of following cereals. The survey revealed that the two dominant break crops, lupins and canola, occupied 8–12% and 8–9%, respectively, of farm area on those farms that grew them in the medium-rainfall zone and this declined to 6–8% and 7–10% in the drier region. Nevertheless, the modelling results show that break crops are an important component of the farming system, even where the area is small, and the response of whole-farm profit to percent of the farm allocated to break crops is relatively flat near the optimum of 23–38%. The modelled area of break crops at maximum profit is higher than that found in farm surveys. The discrepancy could possibly be explained by the lower break crop yields realised by farmers and a reduced boost to cereal yields following break crops than assumed in models. Also, deterministic models do not account for risk, which is an important consideration in the decision to grow break crops. However, the yield difference does not explain the discrepancy entirely and raises questions about farmer motivations for adoption of break crops. The scope for increased area of break crops beyond 23–38% of the farm is limited, even with increases in the yield enhancements in subsequent cereal crops, higher break crop prices, and higher fertiliser costs. Further research is required to better quantify costs and benefits of break crops in Western Australian farming systems.

The epizootiology of ephemeral fever in Australia from its first recognition until 1968 was reviewed. Since 1968, ephemeral fever often in a silent form has been shown to be enzootic in northern Australia, by the use of sentinel cattle. The major epizootics which occured in 1970-1971, 1972-1974 and 1974-1975 are described. These epizootics were characterised by an apparently rapid movement of disease in a general north-south direction in summer months. Ephemeral fever antibody was detected in 11% of 1009 domesticated and feral water buffaloes.

This review would summarize recent advancements in predictive analytics within the financial industry, exploring both the technological developments and their philosophical implications. It would evaluate the balance between data-driven decision-making and ethical considerations. Predictive analytics has witnessed remarkable advancements, blending philosophical considerations with practical applications to redefine decision-making processes across various industries. This abstract provides an overview of the philosophical underpinnings and practical implications of the evolving landscape of predictive analytics. Philosophically, predictive analytics raises profound questions about determinism, human agency, and the ethical implications of data-driven decision-making. The abstract explores the tension between the predictive power of algorithms and the need to preserve individual autonomy, delving into the ethical considerations surrounding privacy, bias, and accountability. Practically, the overview navigates the cutting-edge tools and techniques that drive predictive analytics. From machine learning algorithms to big data analytics, the abstract examines how these technologies empower organizations to make data-driven predictions, optimize processes, and gain actionable insights. Real-world applications in business, healthcare, finance, and other domains underscore the transformative impact of predictive analytics on operational efficiency and strategic decision-making. As predictive analytics continues to shape the future of information processing, this abstract encapsulates the dual nature of its evolution – a philosophical exploration of its ethical dimensions and a practical examination of its applications, offering a holistic understanding of the field's implications for individuals, organizations, and society at large.

As in all the other major economies, China's macroeconomic policy framework was put to the test during the global financial crisis. China applied one of the world's largest stimulus packages. The package provided a very rapid boost to activity in the Chinese economy, with empirical evidence suggesting the package added around 2–3 per cent to the level of GDP in both 2009 and 2010. The stimulus package was clearly a success for China, but there are challenges in unwinding the effects of the stimulus and addressing structural imbalances. Pressures to rebalance Chinese growth and integrate China further into global capital markets will necessitate changes in China's macroeconomic policy framework.

This study employs the cointegrating VAR approach to characterise the relationships between the five exchange rates comprising the TWI and the share market in New Zealand. Weekly data covering January 1999 to June 2006 are analysed. The study discovers there are two types of long‐run relationship mimicking the portfolio balance and goods market theories. That implies there is bi‐directional causality in the foreign exchange and stock markets in both the short run and long run although different exchange rates may be implicated. In the long run, the empirical results for the relationship between the NZ‐US dollar exchange rate and the overall share market index support both the portfolio balance and goods market theories. In the short run, the portfolio balance theory is further supported by all the exchange rates but the goods market theory is supported significantly only by the NZ‐Australian dollar exchange rate. Thus the evidence is predominantly in support of the portfolio balance theory and that the firms most at risk of foreign exchange rate exposure are those that export to Australia.

Rural populations in Australia are in decline and rural farm businesses now endure chronic labour shortages. Livestock enterprises traditionally require more labour than their cropping counterparts and this threatens future increases in their intensity and scale. The influence that labour scarcity has on the profitability of mixed-farming systems in the Central Wheatbelt of Western Australia is investigated in this study. When labour supply is assumed to be non-limiting, perennial plants are profitable where their out-of-season production sustains a sizeable breeding flock in a prime-lamb enterprise. However, when labour supply is limited and labour demand is defined as a function of enterprise mix, cropping activity increases and livestock production decreases. In addition, the proportion of the farm planted with perennial pasture declines. This has implications for natural resource management, with perennial pasture helping to prevent soil erosion, decrease waterlogging, and reduce recharge to saline watertables. Efforts to improve the labour efficiency of livestock production are therefore highly pertinent if perennial pastures are to offset land degradation on a broader scale.

This paper examines the evolution of Australian fiscal policy and the fiscal policy framework over the past quartercentury. Following the early 1980s recession, a sustained fiscal consolidation saw the general government budget balance (for all levels of government) move from a deficit of 3½ per cent of GDP in 1983/4 to a surplus of 1¾ per cent 5 years later in 1988/9. A severe recession in the early 1990s interrupted this process, and the budget returned to sizeable deficits which peaked at 4¾ per cent of GDP in 1992/3. The second half of the 1990s saw a repeat of the experience a decade earlier, with the budget returning to surplus in 1997/8. In contrast to the 1980s experience, however, the general government sector (for all levels of government) has recorded surpluses for the subsequent 8 years to the present. The paper outlines Australia's macroeconomic experience over this time and argues that there have been two significant medium-term factors motivating the extended periods of fiscal consolidation. The first factor, relevant since the mid-1980s, has been the large Australian current-account deficits since that time, and the associated build-up of net foreign liabilities. The second factor, which entered the public debate more recently, is a desire to provide fiscal policy flexibility to respond to the ageing of the population and the projected rising public cost of health services—both influences that are likely to be of increasing importance over the next generation or so. The paper discusses the introduction and evolution of Australia's medium-term fiscal framework which has been put in place to respond to these challenges.

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of digital inclusion initiatives aimed at mitigating the connectivity gap in Africa and the United States. As the world becomes increasingly reliant on digital technologies, the importance of ensuring equitable access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) has become a global priority. This review explores the current state of digital inclusion efforts in two distinct regions, Africa and the USA, to understand the challenges, successes, and lessons learned in bridging the digital divide. The first section of the review focuses on Africa, where disparities in digital access are particularly pronounced. Examining various initiatives, policies, and strategies implemented by governments, non-governmental organizations, and international partners, the review delves into the multifaceted approaches taken to extend connectivity to underserved populations. It highlights the role of innovative solutions such as community networks, mobile technologies, and public-private partnerships in fostering digital inclusion across diverse socio-economic landscapes. In the second section, the review turns its attention to the United States, where digital inclusion efforts also face challenges despite higher overall connectivity rates. By analyzing federal and local initiatives, as well as private sector contributions, the review explores the nuances of digital inclusion in an advanced technological landscape. The examination encompasses efforts to address urban-rural disparities, promote digital literacy, and ensure affordable broadband access for marginalized communities. Comparative analysis between the two regions identifies commonalities and differences in the approaches to digital inclusion. The review assesses the impact of cultural, economic, and political factors on the effectiveness of initiatives, emphasizing the need for context-specific strategies. Furthermore, it evaluates the role of regulatory frameworks and policy interventions in shaping the trajectory of digital inclusion initiatives. Drawing from the experiences of both continents, this review contributes insights to inform future digital inclusion policies and practices globally. By synthesizing the lessons learned from Africa and the USA, policymakers, researchers, and practitioners can develop more nuanced and contextually relevant strategies to bridge the connectivity gap, fostering a more inclusive and equitable digital future for all.

David Tunley; Grimarest's Traité du Récitatif: Glimpses of performance practise in Lully's operas, Early Music, Volume XV, Issue 3, 1 August 1987, Pages 361–364

We examined the extent to which verbenone, a bark beetle antiaggregation pheromone, interrupted the semiochemical-based attraction of ambrosia beetles. Field trapping studies conducted in Ohio showed that a verbenone dispenser with a release rate of 50 mg/d at 25°C reduced the attraction of Anisandrus sayi Hopkins, Euwallacea validus (Eichhoff), Hypothenemus dissimilis (Zimmermann), Xylosandrus germanus (Blandford), and Xyleborinus saxesenii (Ratzeburg) to ethanol-baited traps. A verbenone dispenser attached to ethanol-injected Magnolia virginiana L. trap trees deployed in Ohio also reduced ambrosia beetle attacks compared to trap trees without a verbenone dispenser. Subsequent field trials demonstrated a direct relationship between distance from a verbenone dispenser and ambrosia beetle attacks on trap trees in Ohio in 2011 and 2012 and Tennessee in 2012, but not in Tennessee and Virginia in 2011. Assessment of the influence of verbenone on the probability of attacks above a density threshold found that although attacks occurred on trap trees regardless of their proximity to a verbenone dispenser, the higher density of attacks per tree occurred on trap trees farthest away from the verbenone source in Ohio and Tennessee. Verbenone alone could be somewhat useful for discouraging ambrosia beetle attacks on individual trees or on a small spatial scale, but deployment of verbenone might be most effective when integrated as part of a "push-pull" strategy.

Governments around Australia and internationally have come to recognise that both public and private sectors have roles to play in building modern public infrastructure. Governments are increasingly turning to mechanisms known as public‐private partnerships (PPPs) or the private finance initiative (PFI).1 The nature of PPPs and the reasons governments use them have evolved over the past 20 years and are continuing to do so. This article describes the evolution of PPPs in Victoria since the late 1980s, the accounting treatment of PPPs and future developments.

This paper considers the problem of pricing American options when the dynamics of the underlying are driven by both stochastic volatility following a square-root process as used by Heston [Rev. Financial Stud., 1993, 6, 327–343], and by a Poisson jump process as introduced by Merton [J. Financial Econ., 1976, 3, 125–144]. Probability arguments are invoked to find a representation of the solution in terms of expectations over the joint distribution of the underlying process. A combination of Fourier transform in the log stock price and Laplace transform in the volatility is then applied to find the transition probability density function of the underlying process. It turns out that the price is given by an integral dependent upon the early exercise surface, for which a corresponding integral equation is obtained. The solution generalizes in an intuitive way the structure of the solution to the corresponding European option pricing problem obtained by Scott [Math. Finance, 1997, 7(4), 413–426], but here in the case of a call option and constant interest rates.

This research explores the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data into public health campaigns, envisioning a future where precision, personalization, and proactive interventions redefine healthcare. Analyzing the transformative potential and challenges, the study examines AI's role in disease surveillance, diagnostics, and predictive modeling, alongside Big Data's contributions to personalized interventions and comprehensive health understanding. Ethical considerations, the digital divide, and regulatory frameworks are central challenges, necessitating a delicate balance between innovation and responsibility. The conclusion foresees a healthcare landscape where AI and Big Data enhance the effectiveness of public health campaigns, promising a future characterized by equitable, data-driven, and resilient approaches to address emerging health challenges.

Livestock production in Western Australian mixed-farming systems has traditionally been constrained by a profound scarcity of feed in autumn–early winter when crop stubbles and pasture residues from the previous growing season have been exhausted. This study investigates the profitability of partially filling this ‘feed gap’ through the grazing of vegetative wheat crops. Whole-farm bioeconomic modelling is used to provide insight into the relative value of grazing and grain production in both low- and high-rainfall areas of Western Australia. Dual-purpose wheat crops are a valuable source of feed in high-rainfall areas as they provide an affordable alternative to expensive grain supplements for a short period in winter. This also allows annual pastures to establish more vigorously by reducing grazing pressure on young plants. Model output suggests farm profit can increase by over 10% with the grazing of vegetative wheat crops in high-rainfall regions; however, these results are logically shown to be strongly related to the assumed rate of yield loss. In contrast, at the parameter values used in this study, grazing wheats are unlikely to be profitable in low-rainfall environments due to depressed crop production and the extended feed gap experienced in these areas. Higher grain prices unequivocally lower the relative advantage of grazing activity since this elevates the cost of foregone grain yield.

Unemployment differentials are bigger in Europe than in the United States.Migration responds to unemployment differentials, though the response is smaller in Europe.Mundell (1961) argued that factor mobility is a precondition for a successful currency union.We use a multi-country DSGE model with cross-border migration and search frictions to quantify the benefits of increased labor mobility in Europe and compare this outcome to a case of fully flexible exchange rates.Labor mobility and flexible exchange rates both work to reduce unemployment and per capita GDP differentials across countries provided that monetary policy is sufficiently responsive to national output.

Abstract During the early stages of the COVID‐19 pandemic in 2020 the Australian federal government temporarily expanded the level of cash relief available to the working‐age population through supplemental benefit payments, a wage subsidy and allowing lump sum withdrawals from private pensions. Here we examine the scope and direct distributional consequences of these measures. Two in five working‐age Australians received at least one of these three forms of transfer over a 12‐month window. The median recipient had close to half their pre‐COVID‐19 income ‘replaced’ by transfers. The programs interacted to create a two‐tier welfare safety net that put in place a poverty‐alleviating income floor for workers in low‐earning occupations and those on unemployment benefits, and provided job certainty and greater direct income support to those with higher incomes. Aggregate weekly incomes were higher during the initial period of COVID‐19 than they were pre‐COVID‐19. Descriptive exercises, such as this, do not provide information about the ‘impact’ of pandemic policies and are limited to what they directly measure. That noted, we raise an important question for decision‐makers facing future shocks: at what point is there ‘too much of a good thing’ with crisis cash transfers?

Abstract This paper uses 15‐minute exchange rate returns data for the six most liquid currencies (i.e., the Australian dollar, British pound, Canadian dollar, Euro, Japanese yen, and Swiss franc) vis‐à‐vis the United States dollar to examine whether a GARCH model augmented with higher moments (HM‐GARCH) performs better than a traditional GARCH (TG) model. Two findings are unraveled. First, the inclusion of odd/even moments in modeling the return/variance improves the statistical performance of the HM‐GARCH model. Second, trading strategies that extract buy and sell trading signals based on exchange rate forecasts from HM‐GARCH models are more profitable than those that depend on TG models.

There are conflicting tendencies among recent developments in bargaining and participation at the workplace level in Europe. While there is an emphasis on decentralisation of bargaining structures in many countries, there is considerable variance. Similarly, there is a diversity of approaches to both direct and indirect forms of participation. Despite attempts by the European Community to integrate policies on these matters among member countries, external influences such as the globalisation of economies and technologies are leading to diverse outcomes.