Entwicklungstendenzen in der österreichischen Lohn- und Gehaltspyramide zwischen 1953 und 1979

Summary

The paper analyzes the development in the personal distribution of wages and salaries in Austria between 1953 and 1979. Two periods of marked changes in the distribution are identified. First, the period from 1953 to 1964 ist characterized by a strong increase in inequality. This was mainly due to specific conditions of the labour market and to the wage policy of the labour unions. Between 1964 and 1970 a movement towards equality can be shown. This was mainly the result of the narrowing of the wage differential between blue and white collar workers. For the third period, from 1970 to 1979, the applied measures of income inequality do not exhibit a significant trend for more equality or inequality. In this period low and high income classes gained higher shares of the total salary and wage bill. Several structural factors, such as the increasing share of women, of white collar workers and of foreign workers and their impact on changes in the distribution are estimated.