Is bigger better? An empirical analysis of waste management in New South Wales.

Across the world, rising demand for municipal solid waste services has seen an ongoing increase in the costs of providing these services. Moreover, municipal waste services have typically been provided through natural or legal monopolies, where few incentives exist to reduce costs. It is thus vital to examine empirically the cost structure of these services in order to develop effective public policies which can make these services more cost efficient.

Religion and BMI in Australia.

We estimated the relationship between religion and body mass index (BMI) for a general and representative sample of the Australia population. Data from the Household Income Labour Dynamics survey were analysed for 9,408 adults aged 18 and older. OLS regression analyses revealed that religious denomination was significantly related to higher BMI, after controlling for socio-demographic, health behaviours, and psychosocial variables.

Association between body mass index and health-related quality of life among an Australian sample.

Objective: This study investigated the association between body mass index (BMI) and changes in BMI over time with health-related quality-of-life data among a general and representative sample of the Australian population.

Methods: The sample consisted of respondents between the ages of 18 and 79 who completed the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey in 2007 and 2009. These respondents completed the SF-36 questionnaire and provided data on their height, weight, medical conditions, and sociodemographic characteristics.