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A politico-economic analysis of minimum wages and wage subsidies

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Listed author(s):
  • Adam, Antonis
  • Moutos, Thomas

Abstract

This paper constructs a political economy model in which minimum wages are determined according to majority voting. Using the minimum wage scheme as the status quo, we show that the replacement of minimum wages by wage subsidies is not likely to receive political support unless it is supplemented by increased taxation of profits (after-tax profits are also likely to increase).

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File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165-1765(10)00402-7
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Article provided by Elsevier in its journal Economics Letters.

Volume (Year): 110 (2011)
Issue (Month): 3 (March)
Pages: 171-173

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Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:110:y:2011:i:3:p:171-173
Contact details of provider: Web page: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolet

Keywords: Minimum wages Wage subsidies Majority voting Political economy;

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  1. Kishore Gawande & Usree Bandyopadhyay, 2000. "Is Protection for Sale? Evidence on the Grossman-Helpman Theory of Endogenous Protection," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 82(1), pages 139-152, February.
  2. Alberto Alesina & Dani Rodrik, 1994. "Distributive Politics and Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 109(2), pages 465-490.
  3. Orszag, J. Michael & Snower, Dennis J., 2003. "Designing employment subsidies," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(5), pages 557-572, October.
  4. 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.
  5. Cox, James C & Oaxaca, Ronald L, 1982. "The Political Economy of Minimum Wage Legislation," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 20(4), pages 533-555, October.
  6. Andreas Knabe, 2009. "Marginal wage subsidies: a rent-extracting instrument for employment creation," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 36(4), pages 393-410, September.
  7. Adam, Antonis & Moutos, Thomas, 2006. "Minimum wages, inequality and unemployment," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 92(2), pages 170-176, August.
  8. Hans-Werner Sinn, 2000. "The threat to the German welfare state," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 28(3), pages 279-294, September.
  9. Neumark, David & Wascher, William L., 2007. "Minimum Wages and Employment," Foundations and Trends(R) in Microeconomics, now publishers, vol. 3(1–2), pages 1-182, March.
  10. Hans-Werner Sinn, 2005. "Migration and Social Replacement Incomes: How to Protect Low-Income Workers in the Industrialized Countries Against the Forces of Globalization and Market Integration," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 12(4), pages 375-393, August.
  11. Orszag, Jonathan Michael & Snower, Dennis J., 2000. "The effectiveness of employment vouchers: a simple approach," Open Access Publications from Kiel Institute for the World Economy 2519, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW).
  12. Andreas Knabe & Ronnie Schöb & Joachim Weimann, 2006. "Marginal Employment Subsidization: A New Concept and a Reappraisal," CESifo Working Paper Series 1707, CESifo Group Munich.
  13. Freeman, Richard B, 1996. "The Minimum Wage as a Redistributive Tool," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 106(436), pages 639-649, May.
  14. J. Michael Orszag & Dennis J. Shower, 2000. "The Effectiveness of Employment Vouchers: A Simple Approach," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 1(4), pages 385-419, November.
  15. Giovanni Maggi & Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg, 1999. "Protection for Sale: An Empirical Investigation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(5), pages 1135-1155, December.
  16. Phelps, Edmund S, 1994. "Low-Wage Employment Subsidies versus the Welfare State," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(2), pages 54-58, May.
  17. Ronnie Schöb und Joachim Weimann & Joachim Weimann, 2003. "Kombilohn: Die Magdeburger Alternative," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 4(1), pages 1-17, 02.
  18. Saint-Paul, Gilles, 2000. "The Political Economy of Labour Market Institutions," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198293323.
  19. Poterba, James M., 1998. "The rate of return to corporate capital and factor shares: new estimates using revised national income accounts and capital stock data," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 211-246, June.
  20. Henry C. Simons, 1944. "Some Reflections on Syndicalism," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 52, pages 1-1.
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Cited by:

  1. George Economides & Thomas Moutos, 2016. "Can Minimum Wages Raise Workers' Incomes in the Long Run?," CESifo Working Paper Series 5913, CESifo Group Munich.
  2. George Economides & Thomas Moutos, 2014. "Minimum Wages as a Redistributive Device in the Long Run," CESifo Working Paper Series 5052, CESifo Group Munich.
  3. George Economides & Thomas Moutos, 2017. "Minimum Wages in the Presence of In-Kind Redistribution," CESifo Working Paper Series 6545, CESifo Group Munich.
  4. George Economides & Thomas Moutos, 2014. "Minimum Wages, Capital Accumulation and Worker's Incomes," CESifo Working Paper Series 4821, CESifo Group Munich.
  5. Economides, George & Moutos, Thomas, 2017. "Minimum wages in the presence of in-kind redistribution," CEPIE Working Papers 08/17, Technische Universität Dresden, Center of Public and International Economics (CEPIE).

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