Nominal Devaluations, Inflation, and Inequality

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Blanco, Andres; Drenik, Andres; Zaratiegui, Emilio
• 署名单位: Federal Reserve System - USA; Federal Reserve Bank - Atlanta; Emory University; University of Texas System; University of Texas Austin; National Bureau of Economic Research; Columbia University
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-MACROECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7707
• DOI: 10.1257/mac.20230002
• 发表日期: 2025
• 页码: 270-310
• 关键词: exchange-rates; sudden stops; wages; adjustment; TRADE; COSTS

摘要

We study the distribution of labor income during large devaluations. Across countries, inequality falls after large devaluations within the context of a surge in inflation and a fall and subsequent recovery of real labor income. To better understand inequality dynamics, we use a novel administrative dataset covering the 2002 Argentinean devaluation. We show that following a homogeneous fall in real labor income across workers, the bottom of the income distribution recovers faster than the top. Low labor mobility and lack of union coverage among high-income workers explain their slow recovery.