This paper tests whether a wage curve--a negative relationship between the level of unemployment and the level of pay--existed in Chile during 1957--96. The analysis is divided into two periods. For 1957--73, during inward-led development, we reject the existence of a wage curve. For 1974--96, when the economy opened, state-run industries were privatised and labour rights weakened, we find a wage curve of - 0.08. Based on this finding we conclude that the unemployment--pay elasticity in the post-reform period is similar to the - 0.07 to - 0.10 wage curve found in other western, capitalist countries. Disaggregating the analysis by group, we find that women, non-university educated workers and public sector workers have suffered more from unemployment. Yet informal sector workers have not experienced pay drops as a result of unemployment, contradicting the hypothesis that the informal sector acts as a buffer during economic downturns.
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Volume (Year): 18 (2004) Issue (Month): 2 (April) Pages: 151-165 Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML
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