Spillover effects of minimum wages in a two-sector search model

Arbeitspapier

Labor market studies on the effects of minimum wages are typically confined to the sector or worker group directly affected. We present a two-sector search model in which one sector is more productive than the other one and thus, pays higher wages. In such a framework, setting a minimum wage in the unproductive sector to reduce the wage gap causes a negative spillover effect on the productive sector. While the effect on job creation in the (targeted) unproductive sector is ambiguous, job creation in the (non-targeted) productive sector unambiguously decreases. This is driven by the fact that a minimum wage increases the outside option of unemployed workers - contributing to wage determination in the productive sector. Welfare effects are ambiguous. In principle, we cannot exclude that a minimum wage in a two-sector search model is welfare enhancing due to the possibility of an above optimal level of productive employment since firms do not take into account the effects of their individual job creation on aggregated search costs.

Angaben zum Objekt

• Sprache: Englisch

Verweise und Beziehungen

• Erschienen in: Series: Discussion Paper Series 1 ; No. 2009,01

Klassifikation und Themen

• Klassifikation: Wirtschaft ; Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity ; Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials ; Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search ; Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers: General
• Thema: minimum wages ; matching models ; two sectors ; unemployment ; welfare ; Mindestlohn ; Wirtschaftspolitische Wirkungsanalyse ; Mehr-Sektoren-Modell ; Arbeitsuche ; Arbeitsproduktivität ; Matching ; Wohlfahrtseffekt ; Theorie

Beteiligte, Orts- und Zeitangaben

• Ereignis: Geistige Schöpfung
• (wer): Moser, Christoph ; Stähler, Nikolai
• Ereignis: Veröffentlichung
• (wer): Deutsche Bundesbank
• (wo): Frankfurt a. M.
• (wann): 2009

Weitere Informationen

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/27655
• Letzte Aktualisierung: 10.03.2025, 11:44 MEZ