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The Distribution of Work in Australia *
Author(s) -
DAWKINS PETER
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
economic record
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.365
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1475-4932
pISSN - 0013-0249
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-4932.1996.tb00959.x
Subject(s) - unemployment , earnings , distribution (mathematics) , labour economics , work (physics) , deregulation , economics , income distribution , demographic economics , inequality , economic growth , market economy , accounting , mechanical engineering , mathematical analysis , mathematics , engineering
Since the 1960s substantial increases in unemployment, female participation and employment, part‐time employment, and persons working long hours, have produced a wider distribution of work between individuals in the Australian labour market. A widening distribution of work between income units and households has also occurred. The effect on the distribution of earnings and ‘well‐being’ is considered. The case for work‐sharing policies to reduce unemployment and create a more even distribution of work is rejected. Labour market deregulation combined with a negative income tax system may be a way of increasing employment without creating a substantial ‘working poor’.