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Income Inequality in Australia

Author

Listed:
  • Michael Fletcher

    (Treasury, Government of Australia)

  • Ben Guttermann

    (Treasury, Government of Australia)

Abstract

Australia has experienced a sustained period of solid real income growth, along with a modest increase in income inequality. Incomes in lower deciles were strongly supported by growth in labour participation, while those in the upper deciles were supported by growth in returns on capital investment. This paper contends that the income inequality debate may need to be refocused on those at the very bottom of the income distribution and away from those at the very top.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Fletcher & Ben Guttermann, 2013. "Income Inequality in Australia," Economic Roundup, The Treasury, Australian Government, issue 2, pages 35-56, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:tsy:journl:journl_tsy_er_2013_2_3
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    File URL: http://www.treasury.gov.au/~/media/Treasury/Publications%20and%20Media/Publications/2013/Economic%20Roundup%20Issue%202/Downloads/PDF/3-Income-Inequality-Paper.ashx
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anthony B. Atkinson & Andrew Leigh, 2007. "The Distribution of Top Incomes in Australia," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 83(262), pages 247-261, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Greg Kaplan & Gianni La Cava & Tahlee Stone, 2018. "Household Economic Inequality in Australia," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 94(305), pages 117-134, June.
    2. Nicholas Marinucci & Kris Ivanovski, 2023. "Does Inequality Affect Climate Change? A Regional and Sectoral Analysis," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 166(3), pages 705-729, April.
    3. Yongfen Shi & Sudeshna Paul & Sudharshan Reddy Paramati, 2022. "The impact of financial deepening on income inequality: Empirical evidence from Australia," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(3), pages 3564-3579, July.
    4. Arturo Martinez Jr. & Tina Rampino & Mark Western & Wojtek Tomaszewski & Jude David Roque, 2017. "Estimating the Contribution of Circumstances that Reflect Inequality of Opportunities," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 36(4), pages 380-400, December.
    5. Tran Thi Kim Oanh & Nguyen Thi Hong Ha, 2023. "Impact of income inequality on climate change in Asia: the role of human capital," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-11, December.
    6. Jeffrey C. Standen & Geoffrey G. Morgan & Tim Sowerbutts & Katrina Blazek & Jessica Gugusheff & Otto Puntsag & Michael Wollan & Paul Torzillo, 2020. "Prioritising Housing Maintenance to Improve Health in Indigenous Communities in NSW over 20 years," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-22, August.
    7. Peter Saunders & Bruce Bradbury & Melissa Wong, 2016. "The Growing Gap Between Rich and Poor in Australia," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 19(1), pages 15-32.
    8. Mark Westcott & John Murray, 2017. "Financialisation and inequality in Australia," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 28(4), pages 519-537, December.
    9. Mai Duong & Rebekah J Moles & Betty Chaar & Timothy F Chen & World Hospital Pharmacy Research Consortium (WHoPReC), 2015. "Essential Medicines in a High Income Country: Essential to Whom?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(12), pages 1-14, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Income; Inequality; Gini coefficient; Gini; Distribution; Transfers; Welfare Policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

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