Earnings inequality in Australia

Abstract

This study examines the nature and sources of changes in the distributions of earnings for full-time male and female employees in Australia between 1975 and 1994. Measures of change in real earnings and in earnings inequality are constructed using grouped earnings data for 1975 to 1994, and individual-level earnings data for 1982, 1986 and 1990. The effects on earnings inequality of changes in the skill composition of the workforce and in returns to skills are assessed through a variety of tests, and changes in earnings inequality in Australia are compared with recent trends in other countries.