This study investigates the gender wealth gap in Australia by examining differences in the net worth of households headed by single women and men, using data from the 2006 Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. It demonstrates that the gender wealth gap is concentrated in particular types of assets, and differences in the composition of wealth, especially in high net worth households, are an important feature of the wealth gap in Australia. Using decomposition techniques within a quantile regression framework, the study explores the effects of individual characteristics of single male and female households on their wealth and finds that individual factors play a relatively small role in accounting for the large gender wealth gap at the top of the wealth distribution. Therefore, differences in the composition of men and women's wealth portfolios contribute to the gender wealth gap, and future research must account for these differences. INTRODUCTION Wealth is an important determinant of financial security. Accumulated assets can assist with smoothing consumption across the life cycle and provide a buffer against life's emergencies. These assets can generate current services such as accommodation; contribute income such as rent, interest, and dividends; provide collateral when credit is required; be converted to cash to support current consumption; and satisfy motivations to leave a bequest (Carmen Diana Deere and Cheryl R. Doss 2006). However, when Deere and Doss (2006) summarized international research in the field, they concluded that there is little evidence overall for the gender differences in wealth Just four of the studies they identified utilized national-level data for the purposes of estimating the presence and size of a gender wealth gap and all were included in the same issue of Feminist Economics as Deere and Doss's review (John Gibson,

Industrial tribunals and stakeholders involved in wage hearings are sometimes called upon to consider and weigh contrasting evidence that, due to its technical nature, may be inaccessible to non-specialists. This paper investigates the example of two different economic analyses of gender and pay that were submitted to Fair Work Australia as part of an 'equal remuneration' case for workers in the social and community services sector.It demonstrates how the different analyses partly reflect the different theoretical approaches to the analysis of labour exchange implicit in the alternative submissions. The paper argues that understanding the key assumptions and definitions underlying each type of economic analyses can contribute to an improved comprehension of the different viewpoints on gender pay equity among economists.

This article provides information on the movements into and out of paid work by mid-life women. This is a group whose representation in the paid workforce is growing as population ageing proceeds and as educational qualifications expand. It is also a group that will be critical to any labour supply response to the economic challenges posed by population ageing. However, current understandings of the needs and circumstances of mid-life women in paid work are limited. To help address this knowledge gap we use data from the first five waves of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey (2001–2005) to identify the causal influences of health, care and other factors on the ability of mid-life women to remain in and re-enter paid work. The results show that poor health and/or substantial care roles have a negative impact on the employment chances of this group. However, importantly, there is asymmetry in these health and care effects, in that improvements in health and/or reductions in care roles do not increase the chances of returning to paid work. This finding indicates that many mid-life women who experience poor health and/or undertake large care roles face substantial long-term negative consequences for their employment chances and, thus, their retirement and pre-retirement incomes.

Examines community attitudes to earnings inequality in six countries – Australia, West Germany, the UK, the USA, Hungary and Poland. A comparison is made of the attitudes to inequality in each of these countries. The changes in attitudes to inequality that occurred over the 1987‐1992 period are also examined. Some conclusions on the important relationship between culture and the economy are drawn from this analysis.

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