Name: Michael Dobbie

Course: PhD;ECON

Department: Department of Economics

Staff Supervisor: Mr W Junor

Thesis Title

Insiders and Outsiders: Wage Setting Institutions and the Persistence of Unemployment in Australia. (Awarded 2004)

Abstract

This thesis examines the role of insiders and outsiders in the Australian labour market. Special reference is paid to the impact of wage setting institutions on the relative power of insiders and outsiders. The thesis finds evidence that the insider outsider distinction is relevant in the Australian labour market. Moreover enterprise bargaining appears to enhance the power of insiders, and diminish the power of outsiders. This implies that the move towards enterprise bargaining in Australia may have harmed the economy’s capacity to rapidly reduce unemployment in the aftermath of negative employment shocks.