The Nation

Men's heavenly reward comes with a cash bonus

The days when Australian Catholics comprised a largely Irish underclass, while an English protestant establishment held a firm grip on who got the best-paying jobs, are long gone, according to research indicating Catholic men, on average, earn more than others.

The study of the relationship between religious affiliation and remuneration, by Dr Michael Kortt, a business lecturer at Southern Cross University and Professor Brian Dollery from the University of New England, shows Catholic men benefit from a wage premium of 6.7 per cent compared to those reporting a Protestant affiliation.

Those of no affiliation suffer a wage discount, though not to a statistically significant degree.

The study, published in the journal Applied Economics Letters, was based on data from the Melbourne Institute’s Household Income Labour Dynamics Australia Survey 

It echoed the results of similar research in the United States, said the authors, who offered two possible explanations why Catholic men earnt more in the labour market.

“First, being raised a Catholic may have a direct productivity pay-off as it may add to an individual’s human capital by instilling characteristics, such as discipline, that are rewarded by the labour market,” Dr Kortt said.

“Second, being raised a Catholic may act as a signal to potential employers that Catholic men have certain desirable traits such trustworthiness.”

The authors said their results suggested religious affiliation was more statistically important than religious commitment. They also noted that married men enjoyed a substantial wage premium.

They found no evidence that attending a Catholic school contributed to an earnings premium, but acknowledged that education might partly explain the observed wages discrepancy.

Interestingly, they said, the results showed that each extra year of education was associated with a 6 per cent increase in wages for Catholic men but a  9.8 per cent increase for Protestant men.

The results took into account age, years of education, work experience, marital status, indigenous status, father’s occupational status when the respondent was 14 and whether the respondent was born overseas, attended a Catholic school or lived in a major city.

Share this post