Exploiting a unique natural experiment,we showthe asymmetric effects of a large increase and an equivalent subsequent decrease to a binding minimum wage. Wages in a leading low-wage industry increase as the minimumwage rises, but do not fall when it is lowered. This boost for low-wage workers'...

It has been claimed that many workers in modern economies think that their job is socially useless, i.e. that it makes no or a negative contribution to society. However, the evidence so far is mainly anecdotal. We use a representative dataset comprising 100,000 workers from 47 countries at four...

The author empirically analyzes the effect of government enforcement on compliance with labor regulations in Argentina, a country where only half of the workforce receives all the benefits to which they are legally entitled. Constructing a panel data set of the period 1995–2002 across...

Minimum wage policy is regarded as an essential policy tool for improving the welfare of low-paid workers and reducing working poverty and inequality within the labour market. The Government of India recently undertook reforms in the country's wage policy and enacted the Code on Wages in August...

The positive political returns to providing cash transfers have been well documented. However, redistribution through the tax and transfer system, while direct, is not the only means by which governments seek to change the income distribution: regulation of private market transactions may have a...

This paper investigates if changes in the minimum wage have influenced changes on the formality and informality rates, and the level of wages in Ecuador. A 12-year panel was built. It allows to overcome the short time span of household data and so to characterize changes over time. Results...

This study investigates the impacts of the minimum wage on U.S. regional labor markets. Using ten years of county-level data, we examine the relationship between the minimum wage and several key components of the labor market. Following past research, the number of people in the labor force is...

In this paper we study the endogenous determination of minimum wage employing a political-economic game-theoretic approach. A major objective of the paper is to clarify the crucial role of the strength of the workers' union and of political culture on the determination of the minimum wage. In...