100 AUSTRALIA'S RELATIVE DISADVANTAGE IN 
justify the adoption of 114 as the employment norm for those 
years. After the series had been constructed, it was discovered 
that the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics had 
constructed an index at 5-year intervals after 1891, and the 
close agreement of the results from these independent investi- 
gations is a matter for satisfaction. It must still be emphasized, 
however, that the index is open to the rather grave criticism 
shat it takes no account of the exodus to the country as the 
smployment in manufacture fell away, nor of the extent of 
anemployment in the primary industries, which was, indeed, 
not very serious. 
It is now possible to construct an index of wages that is 
adjusted for (i) changes in the retail price-level, and (ii) fluctua- 
tions in employment. It must be noted that the fall in wages 
was accompanied by a fall in prices which, contrary to the usual 
experience in such circumstances, displayed very little ‘lag’. 
The fall in prices is, therefore, ‘masking’ the effect of unemploy- 
ment in the last two columns showing effective wages. The 
complete table is now given. 
Tare XIX 
Wages Index for Australia, 1886-96 
V oar. 
886 
1887 
1888 
1889 
1890 
i891 
1892 . 
893 
1894 . | 
1895 . . 
1808 
Nominal | 
waaes. 
1,000 
321 
48 
931 
44 
384 
371 
346 
727 
387 
707 
Retail 
Drees: 
Effective 
wages. 
1,000 1,000 
928 992 
924 1,262 
912 1,023 
912 1,035 
398 984 
385 | 083 
362 083 
757 960 
746 | 921 
7577 994 
Effective 
wages allow- 
ing for un- 
employment. 
1,000 
1,007 
1,282 
1,013 
1,018 
1,016 
1,015 
997 
976 
944 
D61 
We are now in a position to measure quantitatively the rela- 
tive disadvantage in which Australia was placed with regard 
bo her overseas trade by the operation of the two main factors, 
excessive importation of capital in the first place and the fall 
in world prices, particularly for primary products, in the second.