This paper reviews research which has examined recent developments in earnings inequality in Australia. Three main issues are addressed. First, what have been the dimension and timing of changes in earnings inequality which have occurred? Second, how have earnings differentials between workers...

In Australia, a large decline in union density has occurred since the mid-1970's. This paper examines the relation between the decline in union density and the dispersion of earnings in Australia between 1986 and 1994. Changes in union density are found to be associated with an increase in...

This paper addresses the design of empirical tests to distinguish between two competing explanations of wage and employment determination in unionized labour markets, the labour- demand and efficient-contract models. We argue that most of the tests employed are restrictive, propose an...

Using evidence on variation in the gender gap in labor force participation rates(LFPR) across home country groups in the United States, this paper attempts to assess the role of two factors, human capital and culture, in explaining why cross-country differences exist in these gaps. While human...

This essay examines the role of studying in determining future wages. Much of the returns to education literature focuses on the extensive margin by determining the benefit of an extra year of schooling. This essay examines the intensive margin. This essay also analyzes other determinants of...

Using aggregate data on employmnet and hours of work from four Canadian provinces at two levels of the retail trade industry, I estimate a simple dynamic labour demand model in order to examine retail firm responses to Sunday shopping deregulation. The estimates suggest that among general...

A principal motivation for Unemployment Insurance (UI) schemes is to support consumption smoothing. The magnitude of the consumption smoothing benefits of UI depend on the extent to which households are liquidity constrained. We use a survey of unemployed people to examine how a job loss impacts...

Impact of school interruptions on earnings through lower subsequent educational attainment and lower quality of education is investigated using the Chinese Cultural Revolution as a natural experiment. During the Cultural Revolution, most schools in China stopped normal operation for 3 to 4...

Two quasi-experiments are used to estimate the impact of parental divorce on the adult incomes and labour market behaviour of adolescents, as well as on their use of social programs, and their marital/fertility behaviour. These involve the use of individuals experiencing the death of a parent,...