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The Impact of the 1896 Factory and Shops Act on Victorian Labour Markets

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  • Seltzer, Andrew

    (Royal Holloway, University of London)

  • Borland, Jeff

    (University of Melbourne)

Abstract

This paper 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, employment, and other outcomes to examine the effects of changes in minimum wages. Although the minimum wages were binding, we find that the effects on employment and other outcomes were modest. We speculate that this was partly because the Special Boards, which were comprised mostly of employers and union officials, followed labour market conditions when setting wages for their trades.

Suggested Citation

  • Seltzer, Andrew & Borland, Jeff, 2016. "The Impact of the 1896 Factory and Shops Act on Victorian Labour Markets," IZA Discussion Papers 10388, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10388
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    Cited by:

    1. Peter Lloyd, 2017. "The Evolution of Tariff Protection and Wage Protection in the Late Colonies and Early Federation," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 36(4), pages 459-476, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Factory and Shops Act; Australia; minimum wages;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy
    • N37 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Africa; Oceania

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