The dominant economic paradigm for the study of wage determination is the human capital model. Increasingly, however, there is growing discontent with this model. The catalyst is the empirical literature on important earnings relationships which cannot be explained by competitive wage theory. Is human capital theory redundant? How useful is the model in the 1990s? This paper provides an assessment of the current status of human capital theory in Australia. The analysis demonstrates that even in a non‐competitive environment such as Australia the human capital framework is extremely useful for the study of wage determination. Its weakness is its inability to explain significant and persistent interindustry, inter‐occupational and gender wage differences.

Using micro‐data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey, and the Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition technique, this paper examines the determinants of the gender gap in financial literacy. The analysis suggests that human capital variables, such as age and education, are not important in explaining the gender gap in financial literacy. Labour market variables, such as sector, occupation, industry, union membership and labour market status, are important and explain around 16 per cent of the gap. This finding is dependent on the assumption that these variables are exogenous. There is a large unexplained gap, suggesting that the main determinants are neither human capital nor labour market factors.

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.

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This article summarizes the effects of the Howard Government's `Work Choices' amendments to the Workplace Relations Act 1996, based on qualitative analysis of its impact on 121 low paid women workers. The main effects of the regulatory changes are on job security, income, voice, working time and redundancy pay. The analysis draws attention to the nexus between protection from unfair dismissal and security of working time and employee voice: many of those interviewed in the study had lost access to protection from unfair dismissal and as a consequence could no longer effectively influence their working hours, or request flexibility. Employer prerogative was perceived to have strengthened in many of their workplaces, with consequences for the intensity of work. The analysis suggests that improvements in minimum standards and job security are vital if low paid workers like those included in the study are to exercise voice over working time and avoid significant deteriorations in their pay and conditions.