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Minimum wage and tax kink effects in the formal and informal sector in Zambia

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  • Samuel Bryson
  • Evaristo Mwale
  • Kwabena Adu-Ababio

Abstract

This paper explores two policy interventions in Zambia, a minimum wage hike in 2018 and an upward revision in the first kink in the progressive income tax schedule in 2017, to examine and compare the impact of minimum wage and tax kink changes on wages and the earnings distribution in the formal and informal sectors. The analysis builds on two thus far separate strands of literature that investigate the effects of minimum wages and bunching around tax kinks in developing countries using Zambian personal income tax data and data from the ILO Labour Force Surveys over the period 2012-21.

Suggested Citation

  • Samuel Bryson & Evaristo Mwale & Kwabena Adu-Ababio, 2024. "Minimum wage and tax kink effects in the formal and informal sector in Zambia," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2024-10, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2024-10
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Dinkelman, Taryn & Ranchhod, Vimal, 2012. "Evidence on the impact of minimum wage laws in an informal sector: Domestic workers in South Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(1), pages 27-45.
    2. Neryvia Pillay, 2021. "Taxpayer responsiveness to taxation: Evidence from bunching at kink points of the South African income tax schedule," ERSA Working Paper Series, Economic Research Southern Africa, vol. 0.
    3. Marcelo Bergolo & Gabriel Burdin & Mauricio De Rosa & Matias Giaccobasso & Martin Leites, 2021. "Digging Into the Channels of Bunching: Evidence from the Uruguayan Income Tax," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 131(639), pages 2726-2762.
    4. Harrison, Ann E & Leamer, Edward, 1997. "Labor Markets in Developing Countries: An Agenda for Research," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(3), pages 1-19, July.
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