Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/161011 
Year of Publication: 
2016
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 10388
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
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.
Subjects: 
minimum wages
Australia
Factory and Shops Act
JEL: 
J38
N37
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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