The Impact of the 1896 Factory and Shops Act on the Labor Market of Victoria, Australia

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: University of London; Royal Holloway University London; University of Melbourne
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC HISTORY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-0507
• DOI: 10.1017/S0022050718000359
• 发表日期: 2018
• 页码: 785-821
• 关键词: minimum-wage; monopsonistic competition; panel-data; EMPLOYMENT

摘要

This article examines the effects of the Victorian Factory and Shops Act, the first minimum wage law in Australia. The Act differed from modern minimum wage laws in that it established Special Boards, which set trade-specific minimum wage schedules. We use trade-level data on average wages and employment by gender and age to examine the effects of minimum wages. Although the minimum wages were binding, we find that the effects on employment were modest, at best. We speculate that this was because the Special Boards, which were comprised of industry insiders, closely matched the labor market for their trades.