This paper uses novel microdata sources spanning 2001-02 to 2015-16 to explore the structural drivers of wage growth in Australia, with a view to better understanding recent weak wage growth – a phenomenon observed across a range of advanced economies.

I show that where a child grows up has a causal effect on their adult income, but that place matters most in the teenage years. I use variation in the age at which Australian children move to identify this pattern of place exposure effects. I explore two potential explanations. First, this pattern is partly explained...