Sefa Awaworyi Churchill
Biographic Data
| ID | 271802 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Sefa Awaworyi Churchill |
| GIVEN NAMES | Sefa Awaworyi |
| FAMILY NAME | Churchill |
| SIGNATURE | CHURCHILL S A |
| AFFILIATIONS | RMIT University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-1930-9177 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 40 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 97 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 39 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2017 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Temperature shocks and childbearing in Australia
We investigate the impact of temperature shocks on household childbearing decisions in Australia using 21 rounds of longitudinal data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. We explore the relationship between deviations in average temperature and fertility outcomes by integrating high-resolution satellite temperature data at postcode level with detailed household fertility information from HILDA. Our findings …
When the thermometer rises, the scales tip: Extreme temperature exposure and obesity
Obesity is a global public health issue, with over 1.9 billion adults reported to be either overweight or obese. Despite the high financial and health costs associated with obesity, the global prevalence of obesity across all age groups has been on the rise. Using the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, we provide evidence of the causal relationship between extreme temperature exposure and obesity. We show that ther…
Cycles of adversity: Parental joblessness in childhood and energy poverty in adulthood
This study examines the causal relationship between exposure to father's joblessness during childhood and adolescence and experiencing energy poverty in adulthood using data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. To address concerns that father's joblessness is endogenous, we employ the interaction between the average number of recessions that occurred in the period before the individual was age 14 and materna…
The wellbeing implications of household home repair and renovation expenditure
Home repair, maintenance and renovation expenditures continue to grow relative to the costs of new construction. However, while an established literature has examined the impact of homeownership on wellbeing, we know virtually nothing on how expenditures on home repairs and renovation impact on wellbeing. We examine the impact of home repair, maintenance and renovation expenditure on the subjective wellbeing of homeowners in Australia. Apply regr…
Local area crime and alcohol consumption: Longitudinal evidence from Australia
BACKGROUND: Alcohol misuse is a major public health issue. Understanding factors that contribute to alcohol misuse or risky drinking behaviour is important for policy. This study examined if crime rates in the neighbourhood (postcode) where a person lives influences their likelihood of engaging in risky drinking behaviour. We further explored social capital and mental health as channels through which neighbourhood crime influences risky drinking …
Unconditional cash transfers, health and savings
This paper examines the relationship between a national unconditional cash transfers (UCTs) program, health and savings. We theoretically and empirically show that motives to save can be strong when cash transfers promote health outcomes. We first present a theoretical model that considers lifecycle-consumption savings decisions, where households derive utility from consumption and leisure time at working age, as well as old-age consumption and o…
The fattening speed: Understanding the impact of internet speed on obesity, and the mediating role of sedentary behaviour
A financial disaster in the making: Temperature shocks, climate change and savings
Research on climate change and its effects has seen a surge in interest as global temperatures continue to rise. A related body of literature focuses on the impact of weather on financial decisions. However, there is very little evidence on the channels through which temperature shocks affect savings. This is a significant shortcoming in the existing literature given the growing tendency among policymakers to use savings as an indicator of financ…
Non-cognitive traits and homeownership in Australia
We empirically examine the nexus between Locus of Control (LoC) and housing tenure in Australia. Drawing on data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics Survey for the period 2001–2021, we find that being internal on LoC is associated with a higher likelihood of homeownership and transitioning from renting to owning a home, while being external on LoC is more likely to lead to the opposite. This result is consistent across multiple robustn…
Estimating the relationship between ethnic inequality, conflict and voter turnout in Africa using geocoded data
To what extent is voter turnout influenced by ethnic inequality? We combine ethnolinguistic maps on sub-national locations of ethnic groups with night-time light satellite images to construct a dataset of ethnic inequality across sub-national locations in 24 African countries. Using election data from the constituency-level elections archive, we show that ethnic inequality is negatively associated with voter turnout. This relationship holds even …
Effect of crime on housing tenure: Evidence from longitudinal data in Australia
The impact of financial development on house prices
We examine the relationship between financial development and house prices in the Group of Seven (G7) countries over the period 1870–2016. We use parametric panel data models that incorporated interactive fixed effects and non‐parametric models that allow us to examine non‐linearities and the time‐varying nature of the relationship. Our parametric estimates show a positive relationship between financial development and house prices. The results f…
Has the Covid-19 pandemic converged across countries
Neighbourhood crime and obesity: Longitudinal evidence from Australia
Our findings suggest that targeting crime, and in particular violent crime, which seems to be driving the findings, is a core mechanism for reducing BMI and maintaining healthy body weight. The mediating role of physical activity and social capital also suggest that public policy can specifically target these areas by providing interventions that promote social capital and physical activity even amidst high crime rates
Has tourism driven house prices in Germany? Time-varying evidence since 1870
Using a historical data set and recent advances in non-parametric time series modelling, we investigate the nexus between tourism flows and house prices in Germany over nearly 150 years. We use time-varying non-parametric techniques given that historical data tend to exhibit abrupt changes and other forms of non-linearities. Our findings show evidence of a time-varying effect of tourism flows on house prices, although with mixed effects. The pre-…
The Intergenerational Impacts of War: Bombings and Child Labour in Vietnam
While adverse consequences of war for the generation who lived through the conflict have been well documented in the literature, the intergenerational impacts of war have received far less attention. We provide causal evidence on the impact of bombings during the Vietnam War on the prevalence of child labour among second-generation Vietnamese, defined as those born after the Vietnam War. Our preferred results, which instrument for bombing intensi…
Ethnic Diversity and Informal Work in Ghana
We present the first study that examines the effects of ethnic diversity on informal work. Using two waves of data from the Ghana Socioeconomic Panel Survey, we find that ethnic diversity is associated with a higher probability of engaging in informal work. Specifically, our instrumental variable estimates suggest that a unit increase in ethnic diversity is associated with up to a 16.7 percentage point increase in the probability of engaging in i…
Introduction to the Special Issue: Socioeconomic Outcomes of Indigenous Groups — Determinants and Trends
Towards codes of practice for navigating the academic peer review process
Peer review is the bedrock of modern academic research and its lasting contributions to science and society. And yet, reviewers can submit “poor” peer review reports, authors can blatantly ignore referee advice, and editors can contravene and undermine the peer review process itself. In this paper, we, the Editors of Energy Research & Social Science (ER&SS), seek to establish peer review codes of practice for the general energy and social science…
Locus of control and the mental health effects of local area crime
Gambling and Financial Stress
In recent years, gambling harm has been considered a significant public health concern due to its increasing socioeconomic costs. Although the adverse effects of gambling have attracted research interest, evidence of its effect on financial stress remains largely anecdotal. This study empirically examines the link between individual problem gambling severity and financial stress using panel data from the household, income and labour dynamics in A…
Social Capital Inequality and Subjective Wellbeing of Older Chinese
Has healthcare expenditure converged across Australian states and territories
Religion and the Risks of Sexually Transmissible Infections: Evidence from Britain
Ethnic Diversity and Food Insecurity: Evidence from Ghana
We examine the link between ethnic diversity and food insecurity. Using data from the Ghana Living Standards Survey, we measure food insecurity using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale and measure ethnic diversity at the district level using information from the Ghana Population and Housing Census. After addressing endogeneity, we find that an increase in ethnic diversity is associated with an increase in food insecurity. This result is robust …
Trust, Social Networks and Subjective Wellbeing in China
Ethnic Diversity and Poverty
Ethnic Diversity and Health Outcomes
Locus of control and the mental health effects of local area crime
Charity, Volunteering Type and Subjective Wellbeing
We examine the impact of volunteering and charitable donations on subjective wellbeing. We further consider if the model of the volunteering work (formal vs. informal) and the geographical location of the charity organisation (local vs. international) people donate to has any impact on subjective wellbeing. Using UK’s Community Life Survey data, we find that volunteering and engagement in charity are positively associated with subjective wellbein…
Social Capital Inequality and Subjective Wellbeing of Older Chinese
Convergence in Income Inequality Across Australian States and Territories
Neighbourhood crime and obesity: Longitudinal evidence from Australia
Our findings suggest that targeting crime, and in particular violent crime, which seems to be driving the findings, is a core mechanism for reducing BMI and maintaining healthy body weight. The mediating role of physical activity and social capital also suggest that public policy can specifically target these areas by providing interventions that promote social capital and physical activity even amidst high crime rates
Gambling and Financial Stress
In recent years, gambling harm has been considered a significant public health concern due to its increasing socioeconomic costs. Although the adverse effects of gambling have attracted research interest, evidence of its effect on financial stress remains largely anecdotal. This study empirically examines the link between individual problem gambling severity and financial stress using panel data from the household, income and labour dynamics in A…
The long-term impact of the Vietnam War on agricultural productivity
Non-cognitive traits and homeownership in Australia
We empirically examine the nexus between Locus of Control (LoC) and housing tenure in Australia. Drawing on data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics Survey for the period 2001–2021, we find that being internal on LoC is associated with a higher likelihood of homeownership and transitioning from renting to owning a home, while being external on LoC is more likely to lead to the opposite. This result is consistent across multiple robustn…
Bridging cultural categories of consumption through indeterminacy: A consumer culture perspective on the rise of African Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity
Postmodern discourse challenges dichotomous cultural categories such as male/female, past/present and consumer/producer; it rather venerates the complexity, fusion, and diffusion of cultural categories. This ideology suggests that indeterminate or fluid cultural categories liberate consumer culture discourse availing it to varying consumer needs. African Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity advances such a postmodernist discourse that recognizes …
Estimating the relationship between ethnic inequality, conflict and voter turnout in Africa using geocoded data
To what extent is voter turnout influenced by ethnic inequality? We combine ethnolinguistic maps on sub-national locations of ethnic groups with night-time light satellite images to construct a dataset of ethnic inequality across sub-national locations in 24 African countries. Using election data from the constituency-level elections archive, we show that ethnic inequality is negatively associated with voter turnout. This relationship holds even …
Effect of crime on housing tenure: Evidence from longitudinal data in Australia
R&D intensity and income inequality in the G7: 1870–2016
We examine how R&D has contributed to income inequality in the Group of Seven countries from 1870 to 2016. Using newly developed panel data models that incorporate interactive fixed effects, we find that R&D is negatively associated with income inequality. Non‐parametric models that allow us to capture the time‐varying effect of R&D suggest that this average effect has been negative for most of this period. We find that economic growth and trade …
The dynamic impact of renewable energy and institutions on economic output and CO 2 emissions across regions
Fractionalization, entrepreneurship, and the institutional environment for entrepreneurship
Bridging cultural categories of consumption through indeterminacy: A consumer culture perspective on the rise of African Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity
Postmodern discourse challenges dichotomous cultural categories such as male/female, past/present and consumer/producer; it rather venerates the complexity, fusion, and diffusion of cultural categories. This ideology suggests that indeterminate or fluid cultural categories liberate consumer culture discourse availing it to varying consumer needs. African Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity advances such a postmodernist discourse that recognizes …
Ethnic Diversity and Poverty
Ethnic Diversity and Health Outcomes
Trust, Social Networks and Subjective Wellbeing in China
The Environmental Kuznets Curve in the OECD: 1870–2014
Charity, Volunteering Type and Subjective Wellbeing
We examine the impact of volunteering and charitable donations on subjective wellbeing. We further consider if the model of the volunteering work (formal vs. informal) and the geographical location of the charity organisation (local vs. international) people donate to has any impact on subjective wellbeing. Using UK’s Community Life Survey data, we find that volunteering and engagement in charity are positively associated with subjective wellbein…
R&D intensity and carbon emissions in the G7: 1870–2014
Financial inclusion and poverty: A tale of forty-five thousand households
Using a new nationally representative survey data covering approximately 45,000 Indian households, we examine the effects of financial inclusion on poverty. We construct a multidimensional indicator of financial inclusion and examine the effects of financial inclusion on multiple measures of poverty including the household Poverty Probability Index (PPI), household deprivation scores, and poverty line. We find that financial inclusion has a stron…
Fuel poverty and subjective wellbeing
Moving from the Millennium to the Sustainable Development Goals: Lessons and Recommendations
Convergence in Income Inequality Across Australian States and Territories
Has healthcare expenditure converged across Australian states and territories
Religion and the Risks of Sexually Transmissible Infections: Evidence from Britain
Ethnic Diversity and Food Insecurity: Evidence from Ghana
We examine the link between ethnic diversity and food insecurity. Using data from the Ghana Living Standards Survey, we measure food insecurity using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale and measure ethnic diversity at the district level using information from the Ghana Population and Housing Census. After addressing endogeneity, we find that an increase in ethnic diversity is associated with an increase in food insecurity. This result is robust …
The long-term impact of the Vietnam War on agricultural productivity
R&D intensity and income inequality in the G7: 1870–2016
We examine how R&D has contributed to income inequality in the Group of Seven countries from 1870 to 2016. Using newly developed panel data models that incorporate interactive fixed effects, we find that R&D is negatively associated with income inequality. Non‐parametric models that allow us to capture the time‐varying effect of R&D suggest that this average effect has been negative for most of this period. We find that economic growth and trade …
Has tourism driven house prices in Germany? Time-varying evidence since 1870
Using a historical data set and recent advances in non-parametric time series modelling, we investigate the nexus between tourism flows and house prices in Germany over nearly 150 years. We use time-varying non-parametric techniques given that historical data tend to exhibit abrupt changes and other forms of non-linearities. Our findings show evidence of a time-varying effect of tourism flows on house prices, although with mixed effects. The pre-…
The Intergenerational Impacts of War: Bombings and Child Labour in Vietnam
While adverse consequences of war for the generation who lived through the conflict have been well documented in the literature, the intergenerational impacts of war have received far less attention. We provide causal evidence on the impact of bombings during the Vietnam War on the prevalence of child labour among second-generation Vietnamese, defined as those born after the Vietnam War. Our preferred results, which instrument for bombing intensi…
Ethnic Diversity and Informal Work in Ghana
We present the first study that examines the effects of ethnic diversity on informal work. Using two waves of data from the Ghana Socioeconomic Panel Survey, we find that ethnic diversity is associated with a higher probability of engaging in informal work. Specifically, our instrumental variable estimates suggest that a unit increase in ethnic diversity is associated with up to a 16.7 percentage point increase in the probability of engaging in i…
Introduction to the Special Issue: Socioeconomic Outcomes of Indigenous Groups — Determinants and Trends
Towards codes of practice for navigating the academic peer review process
Peer review is the bedrock of modern academic research and its lasting contributions to science and society. And yet, reviewers can submit “poor” peer review reports, authors can blatantly ignore referee advice, and editors can contravene and undermine the peer review process itself. In this paper, we, the Editors of Energy Research & Social Science (ER&SS), seek to establish peer review codes of practice for the general energy and social science…
Locus of control and the mental health effects of local area crime
Gambling and Financial Stress
In recent years, gambling harm has been considered a significant public health concern due to its increasing socioeconomic costs. Although the adverse effects of gambling have attracted research interest, evidence of its effect on financial stress remains largely anecdotal. This study empirically examines the link between individual problem gambling severity and financial stress using panel data from the household, income and labour dynamics in A…
Economics (30 works) · Demographic economics (19 works) · Sociology (18 works) · Political science (15 works) · Econometrics (12 works) · Economic growth (11 works) · Medicine (11 works) · Psychology (11 works) · Mathematics (9 works) · Public health (8 works)