Firm productivity and ethnic wages

This study looks at how fairly people from different ethnic and migrant backgrounds are paid for the value they create at work in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Using detailed data that links workers, firms, and productivity, the researchers compared each group’s share of a company’s output with their share of its wage bill.

They found wage patterns in Aotearoa are more favourable for European migrants, Asian and Middle Eastern, Latin American, and African (MELAA) employees, and less favourable for Māori, Pacific, and NZ-born European workers. The results vary across recent migrants, long-term migrants, and people born in Aotearoa.

By analysing patterns both within and between firms, the study sheds light on how pay equity differs across workplaces — and where future action can help ensure everyone’s work is valued fairly.

Citation

David C Maré and Richard Fabling. "Firm productivity and ethnic wages.” Motu Working Paper 25-08. Motu Economic and Public Policy Research. Wellington, New Zealand