Wages, Government Patterns and Other Income of Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians

Monica Howlett (), Matthew Gray and Boyd Hunter
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Monica Howlett: University of California Berkeley

Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), 2016, vol. 19, issue 2, 53-76

Abstract: This paper compares the level and source of income for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians using data from the 2011 wave of the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA). Three sources of income are considered: wages and salaries; government benefits; and income from businesses, investments and other private transfers. Consistent with many previous studies, Indigenous Australians have, on average, lower total income than non-Indigenous Australians, with this difference being largest for those who are full-time employed. The difference is also larger for males compared to females. In terms of non-wage income, Indigenous men and women receive a much smaller proportion of income from other sources than their non-Indigenous counterparts (primarily business and investment income). This is particularly the case for those who are not in the labour force (NILF). Correspondingly, government benefits constitute a higher proportion of income for the Indigenous population than for the non-Indigenous. This is true for both males and females, and for all labour force states, although the difference is largest for part-time employed and those who are NILF. Given Indigenous persons are also more likely to be unemployed than non-Indigenous persons, they are more likely to be dependent solely on government payments as a source of income at any one time. The implications of these findings are discussed, as well as directions for future research.

Keywords: Personal income; wages; government payments; Indigenous employment; labour market segmentation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J15 J21 J78 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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