Union density in Australia fell precipitously in the 1990s. This study investigates how union wage effects may have changed as a result. The findings from 1993 data suggest that union/nonunion wage differentials were very small, especially among workers in high‐density industries. By 2001 the overall union wage effect had increased significantly; however, the union/nonunion wage differential was no longer correlated with union density at the industry level.

This study examines the relationship between union membership and (i) the incidence of training, (ii) the degree to which training is transferable to firms other than the one providing the training and (iii) the degree to which workers perceive that training improves job performance. Using data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, I find that union members are more likely to receive employer‐sponsored training than their non‐union counterparts. I also find that male union members are more likely than non‐members to report that training improved job performance. Union membership was not related to transferability of skills between employers.

Using data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, we find evidence that unobserved heterogeneity substantially biases cross-sectional estimates of union wage effects upward for both male and female workers. The estimate of the union wage premium for male workers falls from 8.7 per cent to 5.2 per cent after controlling for unobserved heterogeneity. For females the estimated 4.0 per cent cross-sectional union wage premium falls to 2.0 per cent once unobserved heterogeneity is controlled for. Among males, the results suggest negative sorting into union status at high levels of observed skill, while the sorting is positive at the lower end of the skill hierarchy. There is not sufficient evidence to support a similar pattern of sorting among female workers.

Wages, Lesbians, Heterosexuals, Education,

This paper provides insight into the wage gap between partnered lesbians and other groups of women. Using data from the 2000 Decennial Census, we find that wages of never-married lesbians are significantly higher than wages of previously married lesbians and other groups of women. Results indicate that controlling for previous marriage reduces the estimated lesbian wage premium by approximately 20 percent. Our research also reveals that wage patterns of previously married lesbians mirror those of cohabiting heterosexual women. Overall, our results are consistent with the notion that the lesbian wage premium is driven, in part, by differences in the labor-market commitment of lesbians and heterosexual women.

Job training, Firm size-training effects, Australian labor markets,

A number of recent studies suggest that employer-paid training is on the decline in the United States. The present study provides empirical evidence on the issue by analyzing data on employer-paid training from the Survey of Income and Program Participation, a nationally representative data set. The findings reveal a 28% decline in the incidence of training between 2001 and 2009. Very few industries were immune from the decline, and the pattern was evident across occupation, education, age, job-tenure, and demographic groups. A decomposition of the difference in training incidence reveals a diminishing large-firm training effect. In addition, the workforce appears to have had the educational credentials by 2009 that, had they occurred in 2001, would have led to substantially more training.

The study examines rising employer size-wage effects in the Australian labour market between 1993 - a period when the effects of decentralization in wage determination was starting to be felt - and 2001 - after the effects of structural changes had become more fully manifested. The findings indicate that most of the increase in the employer size-wage gap between large and medium-sized employers can be explained by changes in returns to characteristics rather than by changes in the skill mix. In addition changes in labour market structure - perhaps associated with decentralization in wage setting - captured by the intercept coefficients caused the employer size-wage gap to increase for males and decrease for females. Copyright 2007 The Author. Journal compilation CEIS, Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini and Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2007.