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The Role of the Minimum Wage in the Welfare State: An Appraisal

Author

Listed:
  • Juan J. Dolado
  • Florentino Felgueroso
  • Juan F. Jimeno

Abstract

In order to offer a balanced assessment of the role of minimum wages in the Welfare State, seven basic questions need to be answered: (i) Why is the minimum wage a useful redistributive tool?; (ii) How binding are minimum wage floors in different countries?; (iii) To what extent do minimum wages have the adverse consequences that standard analysis predict?; (iv) Are there strong theoretical grounds underlying the revisionist results?; (v) Who supports minimum wages?; (vi) Under which conditions is the minimum wage a better tool than other policy instruments to achieve income redistribution?; and, finally, (vii) What is the overall cross-country time-series evidence regarding the employment effect of the minima? The aim of this paper is to provide an appraisal on the available evidence for each of the above-mentioned issues.

Suggested Citation

  • Juan J. Dolado & Florentino Felgueroso & Juan F. Jimeno, "undated". "The Role of the Minimum Wage in the Welfare State: An Appraisal," Working Papers 2000-12, FEDEA.
    • Handle: RePEc:fda:fdaddt:2000-12
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    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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