Mind the gap?

02 March 2010Should we care about the earnings gap between city professionals and the men and women who clean their offices, or is it enough to know that both groups are steadily getting richer, asks Andrew Leigh

Australian economic policymakers have a zippy self-confidence these days. Having dodged the 1997 Asian financial crisis, avoided the 2001 US tech-wreck, and emerged largely unscathed from the Global Financial Crisis, our economic growth seems remarkably robust. Adjusting for buying power, Australian incomes per person are 70 percent higher than they were in 1980.

Averages are handy, but can sometimes conceal more than they reveal (every time James Packer enters a bar, the average drinker becomes a millionaire)...

Read the full article

Photo: Andrew Jeffrey

Related Topics

Economics

Social Policy

Related content

Most viewed: This week

1
Web and Information Coordinator - Australian Policy Online (Position number: 29499)
2
Can nations measure well-being?
3
Six provocations for big data
4
What do pop-up shops and homelessness have in common?
5
Evidence-free policy making? The case of income management

Noticeboard

Australian Community Sector Survey
03 May 2012

Strengthen our voice - take part in the Australian Community Sector Survey

There's just under two weeks to go for Victoria's community sector organisations to help us provide an authentic snapshot of the state of demand for services in the state.

Women's Health Victoria survey now open
08 March 2012

Women's Health Victoria (WHV) is a statewide women's health promotion, information and advocacy organisation, working with policy makers and health professionals to influence and inform health policy and service delivery.

The online survey is open to anyone who has used WHV's services, resources, or websites in the past 12 months. It covers: WHV publications, professional training, The Index database of gendered statistics, WHV Clearinghouse, BreaCan Service (supporting people diagnosed with breast or gynaecological cancer), capacity building, member services, and more.

Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (the ACNC) starting in July 2012
07 March 2012

In May 2011 the Federal Government announced that the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) would commence operations from 1 July 2012 and that it would initially be responsible for determining the legal status of groups seeking charitable, public benevolent institution, and other not-for-profit (NFP) benefits on behalf of all Commonwealth agencies. 

Topics

APO