Intergenerational Disadvantage: An Introduction to the Key Issues

Abstract

As in many other countries, economic and social commentators in Australia have long been concerned about high and rising levels of economic and social inequality. That said, inequality per se is not necessarily regarded as a bad thing. What often concerns people more is inequality in opportunity. In Australia this is embodied in the notion of a right to a ‘fair go’, something that many (if not most) political leaders have espoused a commitment to at some point. The origins of the ‘fair go’ in Australia, however, are rooted in the trade union movement and our industrial relations system. It is this notion that underpins things like minimum award wages and protections against unfair dismissals. The basic argument is that anyone who is prepared to work hard should be rewarded. At the same time, this notion is then often extended to argue that those who are not prepared to work hard should receive minimal protection from the state. But what if disadvantage begins well before people reach working age? Indeed, what if it is circumstances at birth that are most critical? This was the topic at the centre of a workshop organised by the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, which in turn provides the basis for the three contributions presented here.1 The contribution by Miles Corak is an adapted version of his keynote addresses to this workshop, while the remaining contributions, by Esperanza Vera‐Toscano and Irma Mooi‐Reci, are summaries of key themes that emerged from other presentations and discussions at the workshop.