The evolution of the earnings distribution in a volatile economy: Evidence from Argentina

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Blanco, Andres; Diaz de Astarloa, Bernardo; Drenik, Andres; Moser, Christian; Trupkin, Danilo R.
• 署名单位: University of Michigan System; University of Michigan; University of Buenos Aires; National University of La Plata; University of Texas System; University of Texas Austin; Columbia University; Centre for Economic Policy Research - UK; University of Buenos Aires; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas (CONICET); University of Buenos Aires; CONICET UBA
• 刊物名称: QUANTITATIVE ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1759-7323
• DOI: 10.3982/QE1857
• 发表日期: 2022
• 页码: 1361-1403
• 关键词: earnings inequality; earnings dynamics; mobility; higher-order moments; inflation; wage rigidity; administrative data; survey data; E24; E31; J31

摘要

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, while collective bargaining and the minimum wage gained influence. This transition was associated with a persistent decrease in earnings dispersion and cyclical movements in higher-order moments of the distribution of earnings changes. To shed light on the changing nature of wage rigidity during this period, we develop a new method to estimate regular-wage processes. As the Argentine economy transitioned from low to high inflation, the monthly frequency of regular-wage changes almost doubled, while the distribution of regular-wage changes morphed from having a mode around zero and positive skewness to having a positive mode and more symmetric tails.