This paper discusses the potential introduction of permanent public subsidies to supplement the wages of low-paid workers in Italy, taking inspiration from Edmund Phelps' ideas on supporting the working poor. We consider how a negative taxation scheme for low-wage earners might address...

Non-take-up of welfare schemes is a key concern of policy effectiveness. Building on studies that have shown the low take-up of minimum income schemes, our case study of Ireland's Working Family Payment is the first to analyse non-take-up of an in-work benefit and its determinants with a special...

In April 2016, a National Living Wage replaced the National Minimum Wage for employees in the UK aged 25 and above, raising their statutory wage floor by 50 pence per hour. This uprating was almost double any in the previous decade and expanded the share of jobs covered by the wage floor by...

Thanks to standardized work protocol and technology of McDonald's restaurants, the hourly wage of McDonald's Basic Crew enables wage comparisons under near-identical skill inputs and hedonic job conditions. McWages capture labor costs in entry-level jobs, while the Big Macs (earned) Per Hour...

The permanent restructuring of the economy, exacerbated by the digital transition and combined with labour market dualization, is progressively increasing semi- and low-skilled workers' risk of marginalization. This article analyses how countries balance employment and equality concerns in core...

Statistical evidence from 58 countries shows that although people in rural areas are more likely to be in employment than those in urban ones, they also tend to have jobs that can put them at risk of experiencing inadequate labour protection as well as low pay. In particular, rural workers are...