My lecture is about the needs of the low paid as a criterion in wage determination. I am concerned about the meaning given to needs and the manner in which they affect wage outcomes. The central issue is this. Does a regard for the needs of the low paid lead simply to an endeavour to maintain...

A century has elapsed since the 'New Protection' policy of the newly established Commonwealth government of Australia gave birth to the 'basic wage' principle following the 'Harvester' judgement. This paper re-examines, with special reference to economic considerations - unemployment, the...

Austria has a significantly lower employment rate of mature workers than Australia. This is the result of a more generous retirement system and more pronounced discrimination of mature workers rather than worse health among workers. In spite of a higher rate of work-related accidents in...

The logic of human capital theory implies that the present values of lifetime earnings are computed using the discount rate applied by individuals when making their labor market choices. Further, inequalities will appear when higher or lower discount rates are applied. Our empirical tests...