Investor and Worker Protection in Australia: A Longitudinal Analysis

Abstract

The authors use leximetric analysis, which involves the numerical coding of the strength of legal protections, to document changes in the level of investor (shareholder and creditor) protection and worker protection in Australia for the period 1970-2010. For worker protection, the level of protection in 2010 was similar to the level of protection in 1970, with two abrupt increases and declines. In contrast, investor protection has increased over the 40 years. The statistical analysis of the data indicates that increased protection for investors is not obtained at the expense of protection for workers. Implications of this finding are explored by the authors.