Deregulation and the welfare of the less well off

Abstract

Deregulation in Australia has had adverse effects on the income of those at the bottom end of the income distribution. Over the 1980s the share in private income of the top quintile rose and that of every other quintile fell. Except in the case of couples without children, the average real private income of the bottom quintile fell for every category of income unit. This increasing inequality seems to have been due to deregulation, not to the effects of technological change, and the increasing integration of the Australian economy into the world economy. One of the effects of deregulation has been an increase in unemployment. Policies to reverse this and to offset other adverse effects of deregulation are necessary. Increased levels of taxation will be required to finance them.

Citation

Nevile, J.W. (1996), "Deregulation and the welfare of the less well off", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 23 No. 4/5/6, pp. 310-325. https://doi.org/10.1108/03068299610121877