Can minimum wages raise workers' incomes in the long run

"Using an intertemporal model of saving and capital accumulation with two types of agents (workers and capitalists) we demonstrate that it is impossible for any binding minimum wage to increase the after-tax incomes of workers if the production function is Cobb-Douglas with constant returns to...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Economides, George, Moutos, Thomas
Institution:ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
Format: TEXT
Language:English
Published: Munich 2016
CESifo
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19103618124919218909-Can-minimum-wages-raise-worker.htm
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author Economides, George
Moutos, Thomas
author_facet Economides, George
Moutos, Thomas
collection Library items
description "Using an intertemporal model of saving and capital accumulation with two types of agents (workers and capitalists) we demonstrate that it is impossible for any binding minimum wage to increase the after-tax incomes of workers if the production function is Cobb-Douglas with constant returns to scale, or if there are no differences in ability among workers. We also show that it is not possible to increase the incomes of employed workers through minimum wage legislation, even under decreasing returns to scale and heterogeneity of ability among workers, unless the welfare support provided to unemployed workers is far below what they would earn in the absence of minimum wages. Moreover, we establish that in the absence of a separate class of agents (i.e. capitalists) minimum wages cannot increase the incomes of employed workers even when there are decreasing returns to scale and no welfare support is provided to the unemployed."
format TEXT
id 19103618124919218909_cf2c6dbed0ac42e29e1c3a3c81ad34a5
institution ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
is_hierarchy_id 19103618124919218909_cf2c6dbed0ac42e29e1c3a3c81ad34a5
is_hierarchy_title Can minimum wages raise workers' incomes in the long run
language English
physical 33 p.
Digital
publishDate 2016
publisher Munich
CESifo
spellingShingle Economides, George
Moutos, Thomas
income distribution
legislation
minimum wage
welfare state
Can minimum wages raise workers' incomes in the long run
thumbnail https://www.labourline.org/Image_prev.jpg?Archive=106561392474
title Can minimum wages raise workers' incomes in the long run
topic income distribution
legislation
minimum wage
welfare state
url https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19103618124919218909-Can-minimum-wages-raise-worker.htm