Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children: A Valuable New Data Source for Economists

Abstract

There is a long history of economic research into issues affecting children and families with children in areas, such as equivalence scales (Engel 1895), poverty (Rowntree 1901), and fertility and population growth (for example, Malthus 1826). Adam Smith (1776, p. 213), discussing colonies in North America, provided an early statement of the importance of investments in early childhood. This review seeks to provide an overview of the LSAC and to highlight features of the data that are likely to be of particular interest to economists.