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Always egalitarian? Australian earnings inequality 1870–1910
Author(s) -
Panza Laura,
Williamson Jeffrey G.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
australian economic history review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.493
H-Index - 16
eISSN - 1467-8446
pISSN - 0004-8992
DOI - 10.1111/aehr.12217
Subject(s) - earnings , egalitarianism , inequality , economics , labour economics , economic inequality , social inequality , income inequality metrics , demographic economics , political science , finance , mathematical analysis , mathematics , politics , law
We document the origins of Australia's egalitarianism by quantifying both the level and trends of earnings inequality during 1870–1910 by constructing social tables for earnings, thus overcoming the constraints imposed by the lack of income, tax and wealth data. We find that earnings inequality was much lower in Australia than in the United States and the United Kingdom in 1870 and that there was no rise in Australian earnings inequality over the half century 1870–1910, but rather a fall. We argue that such findings are driven by a faster skill supply growth relative to demand.