The contribution of minimum wages to increasing wage inequality

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Teulings, CN
• 署名单位: Erasmus University Rotterdam; Tinbergen Institute; Erasmus University Rotterdam - Excl Erasmus MC
• 刊物名称: ECONOMIC JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0013-0133
• DOI: 10.1111/1468-0297.t01-1-00163
• 发表日期: 2003
• 页码: 801-833
• 关键词: employment; earnings

摘要

Recent research has shown the reduction in the minimum wage to be the main cause of the rise in wage dispersion in the lower half of the wage distribution in the US during the 1980s. However, the return to human capital does not seem to have been much affected. Using new methodology this paper confirms previous conclusions regarding the wage distribution but shows that the return to human capital has also increased strongly. A 10% reduction of the minimum wage causes the wage of someone earning the previous minimum to fall by 8%: evidence in favour of a DIstance-Dependent Elasticity of Substitution (DIDES) production function.