No. 3 - Department of Treasury - The Western Australian Government
No. 3 - Department of Treasury - The Western Australian Government
No. 3 - Department of Treasury - The Western Australian Government
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<strong>Western</strong> <strong>Australian</strong> Economic Summary2006 <strong>No</strong>.3Figure 39GROWTH IN PRODUCTIVITY & REAL EARNINGSAnnual Average, 1990 to 20063%IcelandReal Compensation per Employee2%1%0%TrendPortugal <strong>No</strong>rwayKoreaSwedenUSAIrelandUKAustraliaCanadaGreeceSwitzerlandDenmark FinlandFranceLuxembourg AustriaNetherlandsSpainGermanyJapanItaly0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 5%ProductivitySource: OECD dataBut unless the wage share <strong>of</strong> GDP is changing, long-run growth in realwages will equal growth in real output per worker 1 . And changing thepr<strong>of</strong>it or wage share <strong>of</strong> economic output is not sustainable indefinitely as ameans <strong>of</strong> generating real wage growth above (or below) growth in outputper worker.<strong>The</strong>re is evidence as well as theory behind this assumption. In the longerterm, growth in labour productivity and growth in real earnings are closelycorrelated across countries (Figure 39).It is hardly surprising, then, that any deceleration or reversal in productivitygrowth causes consternation. Australia’s deceleration in labour productivityin recent years has puzzled the Reserve Bank <strong>of</strong> Australia, with the Bank’sGovernor Glen Stevens recently observing that Australia’s labourproductivity growth has slowed to “approximately zero” in the past threeyears (Stevens, 2006, p.15).1 If:Real GDPEmploymentAverage Real WageAggregate Real WagesLabour ProductivityLabour Share= G= E= W= Y = W x E= P = G ÷ E= S = Y ÷ GP = G ÷ E so G = P x EW = Y ÷ E so Y = W x ES = Y ÷ G = S = ((W x E) ÷ (P x E)) = W ÷ PAnd P = W ÷ SIf productivity (P) growth is running faster than real average wage (W) growth, thelabour share <strong>of</strong> GDP (S) must be falling, and vice versa.58 <strong>Department</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Treasury</strong> and Finance