There is little empirical evidence on the effect of minimum wage increases on prices, particularly for developing countries. This paper estimates this effect using monthly Brazilian household and firm data over 18 years. As minimum wage increases in Brazil are large, frequent and affect a sizable fraction of the labor force, they affect aggregate prices. Because of this expected price effect, rational agents may take such increases as a signal for future price and wage bargains. Indeed, robust results indicate that the minimum wage raises overall prices not only on the month of the increase, but also in the two months before.
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Paper provided by Department of Economics, University of Leicester in its series Discussion Papers in Economics with number
04/25.
Length: Date of creation: Aug 2004 Date of revision: Handle: RePEc:lec:leecon:04/25
Contact details of provider: Postal: Department of Economics University of Leicester, University Road. Leicester. LE1 7RH. UK Phone: +44 (0)116 252 2887 Fax: +44 (0)116 252 2908 Email: Web page: http://www.le.ac.uk/economics/
Find related papers by JEL classification: J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy
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