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Turning A Blind Eye? Compliance To Minimum Wages And Employment

Author

Listed:
  • Andrea Garnero
  • Claudio Lucifora

    (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
    Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore)

Abstract

In this paper, we explore the relationship between non-compliance with bargained minimum wages and employment. We illustrate the role of labour courts with respect to the Constitutional provision of “fair” wage and sketch a model in which firms choose their desired levels of employment and non-compliance. We show that when employers internalize the expected costs of non-compliance, the effect of deviating from the bargained minimum wages on employment levels are modest, or null. Using data from the Italian LFS, we find evidence of a positive, but small, trade-off between non-compliance and employment. We discuss the policy implications of these findings for wage bargaining, also considering the costs that “turning a blind eye” to non-compliance implies for the Italian system of industrial relations.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrea Garnero & Claudio Lucifora, 2020. "Turning A Blind Eye? Compliance To Minimum Wages And Employment," DISCE - Working Papers del Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza def085, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    • Handle: RePEc:ctc:serie1:def085
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    collective bargaining; sectoral minimum wages; compliance.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J08 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics Policies
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J52 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Dispute Resolution: Strikes, Arbitration, and Mediation
    • J83 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Workers' Rights

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