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Minimum Wage and the Labor Market: What Can We Learn from the French Experience?

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  • Jérôme Gautié

    (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CEPREMAP - Centre pour la recherche économique et ses applications - ECO ENS-PSL - Département d'économie de l'ENS-PSL - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres)

  • Patrice Laroche

    (CEREFIGE - Centre Européen de Recherche en Economie Financière et Gestion des Entreprises - UL - Université de Lorraine, ESCP Europe - Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris)

Abstract

Since it was introduced in 1950, and even more since it was reformed in 1970, the statutory minimum wage has been playing a key role in the French labor market. It has very specific fixing mechanisms, and from the eighties, it has been one of the highest among the OECD countries - both in relative and absolute terms. After presenting the specific features of the minimum wage setting regime in France as well as the minimum wage policies implemented since the 1950s, we provide a comprehensive survey of existing empirical evidence on the impacts of the minimum wage on the French labor market. We use a meta-analysis to draw the lessons from the empirical studies on its effects on employment. We also survey the other potential effects, such as the impact on wage bargaining and other wages, on inequalities, on profit and prices, on working conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Jérôme Gautié & Patrice Laroche, 2018. "Minimum Wage and the Labor Market: What Can We Learn from the French Experience?," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-01842434, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:cesptp:halshs-01842434
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-01842434
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    1. repec:ces:ifodic:v:16:y:2019:i:4:p:50000000004801 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Phillippe Askenazy, 2019. "The Parameters of the French Minimum Hourly Wage," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 16(04), pages 09-13, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Minimum wage; wage bargaining; wage regulation; salaire minimum; France; négociation salariale; réglementation des salaires;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions
    • J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • C18 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Methodolical Issues: General

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