This paper studies the use of a minimum wage law to implement the optimal redistribution policy when a distorting tax-transfer scheme is also available. The authors build a static general equilibrium model with a Ramsey planner making decisions on taxes, transfers, and minimum wage levels....

This paper characterizes the optimal fiscal policy when it is assumed that there exists a minimum wage below which no worker can be hired. The rigidity due to the minimum wage legislation can lead to equilibria in which the supply side of the labor market is rationed. One of the main results of...