‘Anomalies’, Damned ‘Anomalies’ and Statistics: Construction Industry Productivity in Australia

Abstract

The Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) is a state agency established by the Howard government with coercive powers unprecedented in employment relations. A few months before the 2007 federal election, it released a consultant's report purporting to demonstrate that labour productivity had soared in the sector of the industry in which it had been exercising its coercive powers. However, re-analysis of the original data on building costs, which the report cited as its source, demonstrates no major savings or economic benefits and shows the alleged welfare gains to be based on discredited data.