The last two decades has seen significant changes in the relationship between labour market institutions and taxation regimes. The traditional relationship between tariff systems and arbitration on the one hand, and arbitration and a ‘residualist’ approach to social welfare on the other, has given way to a view of labour market regulation and taxation regimes as potential substitutes in the pursuit of efficiency and equity goals.

A particularly relevant recent example of this new relationship occurred during the Accord negotiations on quarantining the inflationary effects of the large depreciation of the Australian dollar after its deregulation in 1983. An explicit deal was struck to maintain the real value of wages, in the face of rising import prices, by trading off wage increases for falls in income tax. In this way, after tax income remained relatively unaffected, and the inflationary consequences of the depreciation were held in check.

The purpose of this paper is to critically appraise the assumptions and proposals put forward in the Five Economists’ plan to change the balance between social welfare, taxation and labour market regulation. The core theme developed here is that the proposal is based on questionable assumptions about the nature of employment relationships and labour market processes. An alternative framework is advanced. Using the Dutch case, it is argued that a more appropriate balance between these policy instruments, which requires an account of the distribution of risk between workers, firms and the state, provides a better theoretical basis on which linkages between taxation, social welfare and labour market regulation can be recast.

This paper is a preliminary investigation of the impact of the changing legal structures of employment on the tax system and the tax system on the structure of jobs. This issue is explored with special reference to the growth of contractor employment in the Australian construction industry. The paper shows how tax liabilities for individuals can be halved where they are deemed to be contractors. The paper estimates that in the mid 1990s this resulted in the average construction contractor paying around $6,000 a year less than equivalent PAYE workers. Losses to tax revenue could, therefore, be up $2.2 billion annually. The paper concludes that more research is required into the nexus between tax and employment structures. This dynamic has major implications for the future of work as well as the taxation system.

A number of proposals for reducing unemployment in Australia focus on cuts or freezes in award wages. Typically, such proposals include (often vague) proposals to offset some of the distributional consequences by top-ups or other adjustments to the tax/transfer system. This paper examines the available options and concludes that, given the current structure of the social security system, there are serious obstacles to the most common ones such as the NIT or the EITC. There is a case for further reducing tax burdens on low wage earners, but options in this area tend to be very expensive and/or require targeting on a family needs basis

Historically, the costs of work-related injury have been reported in macro-economic terms. Macro-economic cost alone, however, does not accurately portray the totality of costs that are incurred as a result of a work-related injury. This paper reviews the literature in the area of workplace injury cost estimation and highlights the complexities involved in the area. Using a case study analysis of six workplace injuries, this paper reports on the overall cost of work-related injury, and identifies the key determinants of cost. The research indicates that the actual costs of workplace injury can vary significantly to the “typical” costs as used in some macro-economic studies.

Managers may implement outsourcing for one or more of a range of reasons: to improve strategic focus, to achieve numerical or functional flexibility, to reduce costs or risk, to change their own roles, to change organisational culture or workplace power structure, and to intensify work effort. However, often there are associated costs, either unanticipated or unquantified. This paper provides evidence from two food processing companies to address the following questions: (1) Why do managers pursue outsourcing? and (2) Have managers anticipated and quantified the potential costs as well as the benefits of outsourcing? We conclude that while it seems clear that managers do begin with clear objectives for outsourcing and anticipate that benefits will flow, sometimes these objectives are not met, unexpected costs are incurred, or objectives change as new information is available or situations change. In other cases managers have been unable to objectively substantiate the outsourcing decision.