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Deserving poor and the desirability of a minimum wage

Author

Listed:
  • Tomer Blumkin

    (Ben-Gurion University
    CESifo
    IZA)

  • Leif Danziger

    (Ben-Gurion University
    CESifo
    IZA
    Aarhus University)

Abstract

This paper provides a normative justification for the use of a minimum wage as a redistributive tool in a competitive labor market. We show that a government interested in improving the wellbeing of the deserving poor, while being less concerned with their undeserving counterparts, can use a minimum wage to enhance the efficiency of the tax-and-transfer system in attaining this goal.

Suggested Citation

  • Tomer Blumkin & Leif Danziger, 2018. "Deserving poor and the desirability of a minimum wage," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 7(1), pages 1-17, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:izalbr:v:7:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1186_s40172-018-0066-7
    DOI: 10.1186/s40172-018-0066-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kanbur, Ravi & Keen, Michael & Tuomala, Matti, 1994. "Optimal non-linear income taxation for the alleviation of income-poverty," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 1613-1632, October.
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    18. Tomer Blumkin & Yoram Margalioth & Efraim Sadka, 2015. "Welfare Stigma Re-Examined," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 17(6), pages 874-886, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Aart Gerritsen & Bas Jacobs, 2020. "Is a Minimum Wage an Appropriate Instrument for Redistribution?," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 87(347), pages 611-637, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Deserving poor; Minimum wage; Welfare; Redistribution;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D6 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics
    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • H5 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies

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