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The Evolution of the Earnings Distribution in a Volatile Economy: Evidence from Argentina

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  • Moser, Christian
  • Blanco, Andres
  • Diaz de Astarloa, Bernardo
  • Drenik, Andres
  • Trupkin, Danilo

Abstract

This paper studies earnings inequality and dynamics in Argentina between 1996 and 2015. Following the 2001–2002 crisis, the Argentine economy transitioned from a low- to a high-inflation regime. At the same time, the number of collective bargaining agreements increased, and minimum wage adjustments became more frequent. We document that this macroeconomic transition was associated with a persistent decrease in the dispersion of real earnings and cyclical movements in higher-order moments of the distribution of earnings changes. To understand this transition at the micro level, we estimate processes of regular wages within job spells. As the Argentine economy transitioned from low to high inflation, the monthly frequency of regular-wage adjustments almost doubled, while the distribution of regular-wage changes morphed from having a mode close to zero and being positively skewed to having a positive mode and being more symmetric.

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  • Moser, Christian & Blanco, Andres & Diaz de Astarloa, Bernardo & Drenik, Andres & Trupkin, Danilo, 2022. "The Evolution of the Earnings Distribution in a Volatile Economy: Evidence from Argentina," CEPR Discussion Papers 16118, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:16118
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    2. Puggioni Daniela & Calderón Mariana & Cebreros Alfonso & Fernández León & Inguanzo José A. & Jaume David, 2022. "Inequality, Income Dynamics, and Transitions of Mexican Workers," Working Papers 2022-14, Banco de México.
    3. Fatih Guvenen & Luigi Pistaferri & Giovanni L. Violante, 2022. "Global trends in income inequality and income dynamics: New insights from GRID," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 13(4), pages 1321-1360, November.
    4. Daniela Puggioni & Mariana Calderón & Alfonso Cebreros Zurita & León Fernández Bujanda & José Antonio Inguanzo González & David Jaume, 2022. "Inequality, income dynamics, and worker transitions: The case of Mexico," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 13(4), pages 1669-1705, November.
    5. Jorge Eduardo Camusso & Ana Inés Navarro, 2021. "Asymmetries in aggregate income risk over the business cycle: evidence from administrative data of Argentina," Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers 4447, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Earnings inequality; Earnings volatility; Earnings mobility; Wage rigidity; inflation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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