The Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research was proud to present the 2023 HILDA Survey Research Conference, supported by the Australian Government, Department of Social Services.

With 21 years of Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey data now available, the Conference emphasised research findings that track how the lives of many Australians have been changing over the course of the 21st century and what factors have been driving that change. Particular emphasis will be given to the consequences of change, including impacts on health and subjective well-being, employment and jobs, family life, and incomes and wealth.

The 2023 HILDA Survey Research Conference was held at the University of Melbourne over two days: 27 & 28 September, with an optional dinner on the night of the 27th.

The HILDA Survey Research Conference ran across two days on Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 September at the University of Melbourne. Explore the Conference program below.

Day 1

Wednesday 27 September 2023

Time Session Description

08:15 - 09:00
Registration

Ground Floor Foyer, The Spot, 198 Berkeley Street, Carlton

09:00 - 09:30
Conference opening

Copland Theatre, Basement, The Spot, 198 Berkeley Street, Carlton

Welcome to country
Opening remarks: Professor A. Abigail Payne
Opening speaker: Professor Mark Hargreaves
Pre-recorded welcome address: The Hon. Amanda Rishworth MP, Minister for Social Services

09:30 - 10:30
Keynote address

Copland Theatre, Basement, The Spot, 198 Berkeley Street, Carlton

The promise, pitfalls, and products of cross-national research
Presenter: Professor Dean Lillard (Ohio State University)

10:30 - 11:00
Morning tea

Level 1, The Spot, 198 Berkeley Street, Carlton

11:00 - 12:30
Childcare and female labour supply

Room 4007, Level 4, The Spot

Impacts of formal childcare price and informal childcare provision on mother's labour supply in Australia
Presenter: Mr Yuyang Chen (University of Canberra)

The relationship between female labour supply and child care availability, quality and affordability in Australia
Presenter: Professor Robert Breunig (Australian National University)

Discussant: Dr Barbara Broadway (University of Melbourne)
Chair: Professor Mark Wooden (University of Melbourne)

11:00 - 12:30
Income and wealth inequality

Room 4012, Level 4, The Spot

Decomposing wealth inequality in Australia and the role of changing demographics
Presenter: Dr Melek Cigdem-Bayram (Jesuit Social Services)

The Australian Dream revisited: The dynamics of inequality of opportunity for lifetime income
Presenter: Ms Annaelena Valentini (University of Siena) 

Discussant: Associate Professor Nicholas Rohde (Griffith University)
Chair: Professor Roger Wilkins (University of Melbourne)

11:00 - 12:30
Female labour and drought impacts

Room 4014, Level 4, The Spot

What works for working mothers? A regular schedule lowers the child penalty
Presenter: Dr Martina Uccioli (IZA and University of Nottingham)

Preparing for the next drought: Insights from HILDA panel data on drought impacts
Presenter: Dr Lavinia Poruschi (CSIRO)

Discussant: Professor Russell Smyth (Monash University)
Chair: Associate Professor Nicole Watson (University of Melbourne)

12:30 - 13:15
Lunch

Level 1, The Spot, 198 Berkeley Street, Carlton

13:15 - 14:00
Poster session

Level 1, The Spot, 198 Berkeley Street, Carlton

14:00 - 15:30
Women in the labour market

Room 4007, Level 4, The Spot

The contented Australian female worker: Paradox lost, paradox found
Presenter: Professor Mike Dockery (Curtin University)

Australian parental leave policy and the motherhood wage penalty 2001-2019
Presenter: Dr DongJu Lee (University of Melbourne)

Discussant: Dr Nicolás Salamanca (University of Melbourne)
Chair: Ms Michelle Summerfield (University of Melbourne)

14:00 - 15:30
Household borrowing and finances

Room 4012, Level 4, The Spot

Do Australian households borrow to keep up with the Joneses?
Presenter: Dr Kim Nguyen (Reserve Bank of Australia)

Life-cycle effects of Australian student loans with income-contingent repayments
Presenter: Dr Yue Hua (University of New South Wales)

Discussant: Professor Garry Barrett (University of Sydney)
Chair: Professor Guay Lim (University of Melbourne)

14:00 - 15:30
The labour market and mental health

Room 4014, Level 4, The Spot

Working from home and mental health: Before and during the COVID-19 pandemic
Presenter: Dr Anam Bilgrami (Macquarie University)

The role of paid and unpaid work in explaining gender differences in mothers’ and fathers’ mental health
Presenter: Dr Nataliya Ilyushina (RMIT University)

Discussant: Professor Stefanie Schurer (University of Sydney)
Chair: Professor Yuting Zhang (University of Melbourne)

15:30 - 16:00
Afternoon tea

Level 1, The Spot, 198 Berkeley Street, Carlton

16:00 - 17:30
Household production and the division of labour

Room 4007, Level 4, The Spot

Gender gaps in unpaid domestic and care work: Putting the pandemic in (a life course) perspective
Presenter: Professor Janeen Baxter (University of Queensland)

Using HILDA to examine the division of household labor and fertility outcomes among dual-income Australian couples
Presenter: Associate Professor Kristin Snopkowski (Boise State University) 

Discussant: Professor Lyn Craig (The University of Melbourne) 
Chair: Ms Gemma Van Halderen (Department of Social Services)

16:00 - 17:30
Housing

Room 4012, Level 4, The Spot

Impacts of housing costs on health and satisfaction with life circumstances
Presenter: Ms Ashani Abayasekara (Monash University)

Intergenerational transfers and transitioning the housing ladder
Presenter: Mr Ryan Brierty (Curtin University) 

Discussant: Professor Stephen Whelan (The University of Sydney)
Chair: Ms Sharon Stuart (Department of Social Services)

16:00 - 17:30
Substance use

Room 4014, Level 4, The Spot

The causal impact of mental illness on tobacco and alcohol consumption - an instrumental variables approach
Presenter: Associate Professor Francis Mitrou (Telethon Kids Institute)

Robust estimates of intergenerational transmission of drinking
Presenter: Dr Sergey Alexeev (The University of Sydney) 

Discussant: Professor David Johnston (Monash University) 
Chair: Dr Karinna Saxby (University of Melbourne)

18:30 - 19:00
Pre-dinner drinks

Woodward Conference Centre, Level 10, 185 Pelham Street, Carlton

19:00 - 22:00
Conference dinner

Woodward Conference Centre, Level 10, 185 Pelham Street, Carlton

Speaker: Mr Matt Flavel (Department of Social Services) 
Speaker: Professor Mark Wooden (University of Melbourne)
MC: Professor Roger Wilkins (University of Melbourne)

Day 2

Thursday 28 September 2023

Time Session Description

08:15 - 09:00
Registration

Ground Floor Foyer, The Spot, 198 Berkeley Street, Carlton

09:00 - 10:30
Poverty and income inequality

Room 4007, Level 4, The Spot

Household income and the risk of poverty around the time of childbirth
Presenter: Dr Ana Gamarra Rondinel (University of Melbourne)

Mental health effects on income and income inequality
Presenter: Professor Satya Paul (Australian National University)

Discussant: Professor Robert Breunig (Australian National University)
Chair: Professor Roger Wilkins (University of Melbourne)

09:00 - 10:30
Gender and labour market outcomes

Room 4012, Level 4, The Spot

Inequality resulting from mismatch between mothers’ actual and desired labour supply
Presenter: Miss Jane Wakeford (Australian National University)

Peer gender norms and gaps in the Australian labour market
Presenter: Mr Josiah Hickson (Australian National University)

Discussant: Dr Leonora Risse (RMIT University)
Chair: Professor Mark Wooden (University of Melbourne)

09:00 - 10:30
Disability and obesity

Room 4014, Level 4, The Spot

An investigation of the effect of disability types and socioeconomic factors on the longitudinal trajectory patterns of health-related quality of life among people with disabilities
Presenter: Dr Rubayyat Hashmi (University of Adelaide)

The longer you stay, the bigger you get? Evidence from an Australian longitudinal study
Presenter: Associate Professor Santosh Jatrana (James Cook University)

Discussant: Dr Ang Li (University of Melbourne)
Chair: Associate Professor Nicole Watson (University of Melbourne)

10:30 - 11:00
Morning tea

Level 1, The Spot, 198 Berkeley Street, Carlton

11:00 - 12:30
Working from home

Room 4007, Level 4, The Spot

Differences in teleworking engagement between digital immigrants and digital natives
Presenter: Dr Patricia S. Lavieri (University of Melbourne)

Working from home and work‐family conflict revisited
Presenter: Dr Inga Lass (Federal Institute for Population Research)

Discussant: Associate Professor Sherry Bawa (Curtin University)
Chair: Dr Sarah C. Dahmann (University of Melbourne)

11:00 - 12:30
Income support and underemployment

Room 4012, Level 4, The Spot

Is our unemployment benefit system targeted effectively or are some people missing out?
Presenter: Ms Erin Clarke (e61 Institute)

Analyzing the patterns and drivers of underemployment among young adults
Presenter:  Mr Thomas Hendry (Griffith University)

Discussant: Associate Professor Julie Moschion (University of Queensland)
Chair: Dr Federico Zilio (University of Melbourne)

11:00 - 12:30
Mental health

Room 4014, Level 4, The Spot

Horizontal inequity in the use of mental health specialists in Australia
Presenter: Professor David Johnston (Monash University)

Psychological distress and productivity loss amongst working Australians
Presenter: Dr Syed Afroz Keramat (University of Queensland)

Discussant: Professor Peter Butterworth (Deakin)
Chair: Associate Professor Jongsay Yong (University of Melbourne)

12:30 - 13:30
Lunch

Level 1, The Spot, 198 Berkeley Street, Carlton

13:30 - 15:00
Labour market dynamics

Room 4007, Level 4, The Spot

Working from home and the consequences for labour mobility and career progression
Presenter: Professor Irma Mooi-Reci (University of Melbourne)

Death of a salesperson: The decline in entrepreneurship in the 21st century
Presenter: Dr Gianni La Cava (e61 Institute) 

Discussant: Associate Professor Michael Coelli (University of Melbourne)
Chair: Associate Professor Yi-Ping Tseng (University of Melbourne)

13:30 - 15:00
Internal mobility

Room 4012, Level 4, The Spot

Retirement, housing mobility, downsizing and neighbourhood quality
Presenter: Dr Ha Trong Nguyen (Telethon Kids Institute)

The gendered effects of children on household relocation decisions and outcomes
Presenter: Ms Jiwon Lee (New York University)

Discussant: Professor Rachel Ong ViforJ (Curtin University)
Chair: Mr Eric Morris (Department of Social Services)

13:30 - 15:00
Mental health in early and later life

Room 4014, Level 4, The Spot

The kids are not alright: Differential trends in mental ill-health in Australia
Presenter: Dr Richard Morris (University of Sydney)


The effect of retirement on loneliness: A longitudinal comparative analysis across Australia, China and the United States
Presenter: Ms Neta HaGani (University of Sydney)

Discussant: Professor Belinda Hewitt (University of Melbourne)
Chair: Lance Nelson (Roy Morgan)

15:00 - 15:30
Afternoon tea

Level 1, The Spot, 198 Berkeley Street, Carlton

15:30 - 16:30
Panel session

Prest Theatre, Ground Floor, FBE Building, 111 Barry Street, Carlton

The future of the HILDA Survey: Opportunities and challenges
Panellists:
Professor Dean Lillard (Ohio State University)
Ms Gemma Van Halderen (Department of Social Services)
Associate Professor Nicole Watson (University of Melbourne)
Professor Mark Western (University of Queensland)

Moderator:
Professor Roger Wilkins (University of Melbourne)

For queries contact:

Tel: +61 3 8344 2100 
Email: HILDA-Conference@unimelb.edu.au

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Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research

The Melbourne Institute is Australia’s pre-eminent economic and social policy research institution. We are renowned for our high-quality, independent and impartial applied research and our development of longitudinal survey tools. Our work with government, business and community groups has been powering effective change for over 60 years, and through our research we play an important role in creating fundamental policy and practice.

We enhance understanding of issues affecting Australia and Australians today, and apply this knowledge to shape debate and drive evidence-based change.