Union Effects on Earnings Dispersion in Australia, 1986–1994
| Published date | 01 June 1996 |
| Author | Jeff Borland |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8543.1996.tb00650.x |
| Date | 01 June 1996 |
British Journal
of
Industrial Relations
342
June
1996 0007-1080
pp.
237-248
Union Effects on Earnings Dispersion
in Australia, 1986-1994
Jeff
Borland
Abstract
In Australia a large decline
in
union
density
has
occurred since the mid-1970s.
This paper examines the effect
of
the decline
in
union density
on
the dispersion
of
earnings
in
Australia bemeen 1986 and
1994.
Changes
in
union density are
found
to
have increased earnings dispersion for male employees over this
period, but do not appear to have had a strong effect
on
earnings dispersion
for female employees. The main cause
of
changes
in
earnings dispersion for
both
male and female employees
has
been an increase
in
the dispersion
of
earnings
of
non-union employees.
1.
Introduction
In the
period
since
the rnid-l970s, there have been substantial changes in
earnings dispersion in Australia. Table
1
shows that between 1975 and 1994
TABLE
1
Percentage Change
in
Real Weekly
Earnings:
Full-Time Employees
in
Main
Job,
1975-1994
1975-86
1986-94
197694
Male
Percentile
in
earnings
distribution
10
25
50
75
90
Female
Percentile
in
earnings
distribution
10
25
50
75
90
-0.099
-0.047
0.013
0.055
0.038
-0.018
0.004
0.048
0.114
0.181
0.033
-0.066
0.030
-0.017
0.046
0.059
0.077 0.132
0.092
0.130
0.159 0.141
0.094
0.108
0.108 0.156
0.121 0.235
0.095
0.276
Source: ABS, Weekly
Earnings
of
Employees (Distribution)
Australia,
catalogue no.
6310.0.
Jeff Borland is at the Department
of
Economics, University
of
Melbourne.
0
Blackwell Publishers Ltdbndon School
of
Economics
19%.
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Cowley Road, Oxford,
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and
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