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Labour Market Institutions and the Personal Distribution of Income in the OECD

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Author Info
Daniele Checchi () (University of Milan and IZA Bonn)
Cecilia García Peñalosa (CNRS and GREQAM)

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Abstract

We examine what determines differences across countries and over time in the distribution of personal incomes in the OECD. We first model the wage determination process and show that unemployment, the labour share, and the wage differential are all functions of labour market institutions. Next we show that in a model economy with only four types of agents - capitalists, skilled and unskilled workers, and unemployed - the Gini coefficient of personal incomes can be expressed as a function of the above three variables. Labour market institutions hence affect income inequality, though the sign of their impact is ambiguous. Stronger unions and/or a more generous unemployment benefit tend to reduce inequality through reduced wage differentials, a higher labour share, and also higher unemployment. We then use a panel of OECD countries for the period 1970-96 to examine these effects. We find, first, that the labour share remains an important aspect of overall inequality patterns, and, second, that stronger unions and a more generous unemployment benefit tend to reduce income inequality. High capital-labour ratios also emerge as a strong equalising factor, which has in part offset the impact of increasing wage inequality on the US distribution of personal incomes.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 1681.

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Length: 47 pages
Date of creation: Jul 2005
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Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp1681

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Related research
Keywords: income inequality; labour share; trade unions;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
D33 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Factor Income Distribution

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

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.:
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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. Daudey, Emilie & Decreuse, Bruno, 2006. "Higher education, employers’ monopsony power and the labour share in OECD countries," MPRA Paper 3631, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  2. Simone Bertoli & Francesco Farina, 2007. "The functional distribution of income: a review of the theoretical literature and of the empirical evidence around its recent pattern in European countries," Department of Economic Policy, Finance and Development (DEPFID) University of Siena 005, Department of Economic Policy, Finance and Development (DEPFID), University of Siena. [Downloadable!]
  3. Hannu Piekkola, 2002. "From Creative destruction to Human Capital Growth: Wage Dispersion Effects in Finland," Discussion Papers 822, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy. [Downloadable!]
  4. Rémi Bazillier & Nicolas Sirven, 2006. "Les normes fondamentales du travail contribuent-elles à réduire les inégalités ?," Documents de travail 123, Groupe d'Economie du Développement de l'Université Montesquieu Bordeaux IV. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Eric O'N. Fisher & Sharon L. May, 2006. "Relativity in Trade Theory: Towards a Solution to the Mystery of Missing Trade," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
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