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Optimal Taxation and Monopsonistic Labor Market: Does Monopsony justify the Minimum Wage?

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Author Info
Pierre Cahuc (Department of Economics, Ecole Polytechnique - CNRS : UMR7176 - Polytechnique - X, CREST - Centre de Recherche en Économie et Statistique - INSEE - École Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Administration Économique, IZA - Institute for the Study of Labor, Center for Economic Research - CEPR)
Guy Laroque (CREST - Centre de Recherche en Économie et Statistique - INSEE - École Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Administration Économique, Department of Economics, University College London - University College London)

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Abstract

Does monopsony on the labor market in itself justify the implementation of a minimum wage when it would not be used in a competitive economy? This issue is studied in a model of optimal taxation. We adopt a definition most favorable to the minimum wage: the minimum wage is useful whenever it can replace a non negligible part of the tax schedule. The minimum wage is useful to correct the inefficiencies associated with the monopsony when there is a single skill. But the minimum wage is not useful any more when there are a continuum of skills.

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Paper provided by HAL in its series Working Papers with number hal-00396252_v1.

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Date of creation: 17 Jun 2009
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Related research
Keywords: Minimum wage; Optimal taxation; Monopsony.;

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Chone, Philippe & Laroque, Guy, 2005. "Optimal incentives for labor force participation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(2-3), pages 395-425, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Herwig Immervoll, 2007. "Minimum Wages, Minimum Labour Costs and the Tax Treatment of Low-Wage Employment," IZA Discussion Papers 2555, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Flinn, Christopher J., 2003. "Minimum Wage Effects on Labor Market Outcomes under Search with Bargaining," IZA Discussion Papers 949, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  4. Allen, Stephen P, 1987. "Taxes, Redistribution, and the Minimum Wage: A Theoretical Analysis," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 102(3), pages 477-89, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Beaudry, Paul & Blackorby, 1997. "Taxes and employment subsidies in an optimal redistribution program," CEPREMAP Working Papers (Couverture Orange) 9709, CEPREMAP.
  6. Emmanuel Saez, 2002. "Optimal Income Transfer Programs: Intensive Versus Extensive Labor Supply Responses," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 117(3), pages 1039-1073, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Beaudry, Paul & Blackorby, Charles, 2006. "Taxes and Employment Subsidies in Optimal Redistribution Programs," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 766, University of Warwick, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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  8. Juan J. Dolado & Florentino Felgueroso & Juan F. Jimeno, 2000. "The Role of the Minimum Wage in the Welfare State: An Appraisal," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics (SJES), Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics (SSES), vol. 136(III), pages 223-245, September. [Downloadable!]
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  9. David Neumark & William Wascher, 2006. "Minimum Wages and Employment: A Review of Evidence from the New Minimum Wage Research," NBER Working Papers 12663, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. Guesnerie, Roger & Roberts, Kevin, 1987. "Minimum wage legislation as a second best policy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(1-2), pages 490-498. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Diamond, P., 1980. "Income taxation with fixed hours of work," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 101-110, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Drazen, Allan, 1986. "Optimal Minimum Wage Legislation," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 96(383), pages 774-84, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Philippe Choné ; Guy Laroque, 2006. "Should Low Skilled Work be Subsidized ?," Working Papers 2006-08, Centre de Recherche en Economie et Statistique, revised Aug 2006. [Downloadable!]
  14. Masters, Adrian M, 1999. "Wage Posting in Two-Sided Search and the Minimum Wage," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 40(4), pages 809-26, November.
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  15. Mirrlees, James A, 1971. "An Exploration in the Theory of Optimum Income Taxation," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 38(114), pages 175-208, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Etienne Lehmann & Mathias Hungerbühler, 2007. "On the Optimality of a Minimum Wage: New Insights from Optimal Tax Theory," IZA Discussion Papers 2957, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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  17. Robin Boadway & Katherine Cuff, 1999. "A Minimum Wage Can Be Welfare-Improving and Employment-Enhancing," Cahiers de recherche CREFE / CREFE Working Papers 72, CREFE, Université du Québec à Montréal. [Downloadable!]
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  18. Bhaskar, V & To, Ted, 1999. "Minimum Wages for Ronald McDonald Monopsonies: A Theory of Monopsonistic Competition," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 109(455), pages 190-203, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  19. Cahuc, P. & Saint-Martin, A. & Zylberberg, A., 2001. "The consequences of the minimum wage when other wages are bargained over," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 337-352, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  20. Guy Laroque, 2005. "Income Maintenance and Labor Force Participation," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 73(2), pages 341-376, 03. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  21. Rebitzer, James B. & Taylor, Lowell J., 1995. "The consequences of minimum wage laws Some new theoretical ideas," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(2), pages 245-255, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  22. Manning, Alan, 1995. "How Do We Know That Real Wages Are Too High?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 110(4), pages 1111-25, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Etienne Lehmann & Mathias Hungerbühler, 2007. "On the Optimality of a Minimum Wage: New Insights from Optimal Tax Theory," IZA Discussion Papers 2957, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Etienne Lehmann & Alexis Parmentier & Bruno van der Linden, 2008. "Optimal Income Taxation with Endogenous Participation and Search Unemployment," IDEP Working Papers 0805, Institut d'economie publique (IDEP), Marseille, France, revised 01 Sep 2008. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. David Lee & Emmanuel Saez, 2008. "Optimal Minimum Wage Policy in Competitive Labor Markets," NBER Working Papers 14320, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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This page was last updated on 2009-11-21.

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