We document the origins of Australia's egalitarianism by quantifying both the level and trends of earnings inequality during 1870–1910 by constructing social tables for earnings, thus overcoming the constraints imposed by the lack of income, tax and wealth data. We find that earnings inequality was much lower in Australia than in the United States and the United Kingdom in 1870 and that there was no rise in Australian earnings inequality over the half century 1870–1910, but rather a fall. We argue that such findings are driven by a faster skill supply growth relative to demand.

中文翻译：

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永远平等？1870-1910 年澳大利亚收入不平等

我们通过构建收入社会表来量化1870 年至 1910 年期间收入不平等的水平和趋势，从而克服由于缺乏收入、税收和财富数据而造成的限制，从而记录了澳大利亚平等主义的起源。我们发现 1870 年澳大利亚的收入不平等远低于美国和英国，而且在 1870 年至 1910 年的半个世纪中，澳大利亚的收入不平等没有上升，而是下降了。我们认为，这些发现是由相对于需求更快的技能供应增长驱动的。