Do Minimum Wages in Latin America and the Caribbean Matter?

Do Minimum Wages in Latin America and the Caribbean Matter?
Author: Nicolai Kristensen
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 49
Release: 2006
Genre: Income distribution
ISBN:

"Despite the existence of minimum wage legislation in most Latin American countries, there is little empirical evidence demonstrating its impact on the distribution of wages. In this study the authors analyze cross-country data for 19 Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries to gain an understanding of if and how minimum wages affect wage distributions in LAC countries. Although there is no single minimum wage institution in the LAC region, the authors find regional trends. Minimum wages affect the wage distribution in both the formal and, especially, the informal sector, both at the minimum wage and at multiples of the minimum. The minimum does not uniformly benefit low-wage workers: in countries where the minimum wage is relatively low compared to mean wages, the minimum wage affects the more disadvantaged segments of the labor force, namely informal sector workers, women, young and older workers, and the low skilled, but in countries where the minimum wage is relatively high compared to the wage distribution, it primarily affects wages of the high skilled. This indicates that the minimum does not generally lift the wages of all, but instead, it offers a wage into which employers can "lock in" wages that are already near that level. Thus, minimum wage legislation is more far-reaching than originally thought, affecting both the uncovered informal sector and those earning above the minimum. In addition, the relative level of the minimum wage is important for determining whose wages are affected. "--World Bank web site.

Do Minimum Wages in Latin America and the Caribbean Matter? Evidence from 19 Countries

Do Minimum Wages in Latin America and the Caribbean Matter? Evidence from 19 Countries
Author: Nicolai Kristensen
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2012
Genre:
ISBN:

Despite the existence of minimum wage legislation in most Latin American countries, there is little empirical evidence demonstrating its impact on the distribution of wages. In this study the authors analyze cross-country data for 19 Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries to gain an understanding of if and how minimum wages affect wage distributions in LAC countries. Although there is no single minimum wage institution in the LAC region, the authors find regional trends. Minimum wages affect the wage distribution in both the formal and, especially, the informal sector, both at the minimum wage and at multiples of the minimum. The minimum does not uniformly benefit low-wage workers: in countries where the minimum wage is relatively low compared to mean wages, the minimum wage affects the more disadvantaged segments of the labor force, namely informal sector workers, women, young and older workers, and the low skilled, but in countries where the minimum wage is relatively high compared to the wage distribution, it primarily affects wages of the high skilled. This indicates that the minimum does not generally lift the wages of all, but instead, it offers a wage into which employers can "lock in" wages that are already near that level. Thus, minimum wage legislation is more far-reaching than originally thought, affecting both the uncovered informal sector and those earning above the minimum. In addition, the relative level of the minimum wage is important for determining whose wages are affected.

Law and Employment

Law and Employment
Author: James J. Heckman
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 585
Release: 2007-11-01
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0226322858

Law and Employment analyzes the effects of regulation and deregulation on Latin American labor markets and presents empirically grounded studies of the costs of regulation. Numerous labor regulations that were introduced or reformed in Latin America in the past thirty years have had important economic consequences. Nobel Prize-winning economist James J. Heckman and Carmen Pagés document the behavior of firms attempting to stay in business and be competitive while facing the high costs of complying with these labor laws. They challenge the prevailing view that labor market regulations affect only the distribution of labor incomes and have little or no impact on efficiency or the performance of labor markets. Using new micro-evidence, this volume shows that labor regulations reduce labor market turnover rates and flexibility, promote inequality, and discriminate against marginal workers. Along with in-depth studies of Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Jamaica, and Trinidad, Law and Employment provides comparative analysis of Latin American economies against a range of European countries and the United States. The book breaks new ground by quantifying not only the cost of regulation in Latin America, the Caribbean, and in the OECD, but also the broader impact of this regulation.

The Oxford Handbook of Latin American Economics

The Oxford Handbook of Latin American Economics
Author: José Antonio Ocampo
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 959
Release: 2011-07-28
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 019957104X

A comprehensive overview of the key factors affecting the development of Latin American economies that examines long-term growth performance, macroeconomic issues, Latin American economies in the global context, technological and agricultural policies, and the evolution of labour markets, the education sector, and social security programmes.

Informality

Informality
Author: Guillermo Perry
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 270
Release: 2007
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0821370936

Analyzes informality in Latin America, exploring root causes and reasons for and implications of its growth. This book uses two distinct but complementary lenses. It concludes that reducing informality levels and overcoming the "culture of informality" will require actions to increase aggregate productivity in the economy.

Economía 2010

Economía 2010
Author: Roberto Rigobón
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
Total Pages: 163
Release: 2011-03-09
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0815721595

Journal of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association, Fall 2010 Contents: • Editors' Summary • Reforming Pensions: Lessons from Economic Theory and Some Policy DirectionsBy Nicholas Barr and Peter Diamond • Containing Systemic Risk: Paradigm-Based Perspectives on Regulatory ReformBy Augusto De la Torre and Alain Ize • Labor Market Rigidities and Informality in ColombiaBy Camilo Mondragón-Vélez, Ximena Peña, and Daniel Wills • Communicational Bias in Monetary Policy: Can Words Forecast Deeds?By Pablo Pincheira and Mauricio Calani

Venezuela Before Chávez

Venezuela Before Chávez
Author: Ricardo Hausmann
Publisher: Penn State Press
Total Pages: 482
Release: 2015-06-13
Genre: History
ISBN: 0271064625

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Venezuela had one of the poorest economies in Latin America, but by 1970 it had become the richest country in the region and one of the twenty richest countries in the world, ahead of countries such as Greece, Israel, and Spain. Between 1978 and 2001, however, Venezuela’s economy went sharply in reverse, with non-oil GDP declining by almost 19 percent and oil GDP by an astonishing 65 percent. What accounts for this drastic turnabout? The editors of Venezuela Before Chávez, who each played a policymaking role in the country’s economy during the past two decades, have brought together a group of economists and political scientists to examine systematically the impact of a wide range of factors affecting the economy’s collapse, from the cost of labor regulation and the development of financial markets to the weakening of democratic governance and the politics of decisions about industrial policy. Aside from the editors, the contributors are Omar Bello, Adriana Bermúdez, Matías Braun, Javier Corrales, Jonathan Di John, Rafael Di Tella, Javier Donna, Samuel Freije, Dan Levy, Robert MacCulloch, Osmel Manzano, Francisco Monaldi, María Antonia Moreno, Daniel Ortega, Michael Penfold, José Pineda, Lant Pritchett, Cameron A. Shelton, and Dean Yang.

Labour Markets, Institutions and Inequality

Labour Markets, Institutions and Inequality
Author: Janine Berg
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 430
Release: 2015-01-30
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1784712108

Labour market institutions, including collective bargaining, the regulation of employment contracts and social protection policies, are instrumental for improving the well-being of workers, their families and society. In many countries, these instituti

Minimum Wages in China

Minimum Wages in China
Author: Shi Li
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 402
Release: 2020-05-25
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9811524211

This book considers the positive and negative impacts of the minimum wage policy in China. Since China enacted its first minimum wage law in 1994, the magnitude and frequency of changes in the minimum wage have been substantial, both over time and across jurisdictions. The results from China’s experience show that rapidly increasing minimum wages have helped increase average wages and reduce the gender wage gap, income inequality, and poverty. However, the fast-rising minimum wage has also resulted in the loss of employment for young adults, women, low-skilled workers, and migrant workers. Additionally, higher minimum wages have a negative impact on firm profitability and adverse effects on firm’s human capital investment. In summary, the Chinese minimum wage policy has shown both positive and negative impacts on the affected workers. Through unpacking these findings, the book highlights the importance of rigorous research to inform evidence-based policymaking and provides lessons for other transitional and developing economies.

The Economics of Contemporary Latin America

The Economics of Contemporary Latin America
Author: Beatriz Armendariz
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 461
Release: 2017-05-05
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0262337878

Analysis of Latin America's economy focusing on development, covering the colonial roots of inequality, boom and bust cycles, labor markets, and fiscal and monetary policy. Latin America is richly endowed with natural resources, fertile land, and vibrant cultures. Yet the region remains much poorer than its neighbors to the north. Most Latin American countries have not achieved standards of living and stable institutions comparable to those found in developed countries, have experienced repeated boom-bust cycles, and remain heavily reliant on primary commodities. This book studies the historical roots of Latin America's contemporary economic and social development, focusing on poverty and income inequality dating back to colonial times. It addresses today's legacies of the market-friendly reforms that took hold in the 1980s and 1990s by examining successful stabilizations and homemade monetary and fiscal institutional reforms. It offers a detailed analysis of trade and financial liberalization, twenty–first century-growth, and the decline in poverty and income inequality. Finally, the book offers an overall analysis of inclusive growth policies for development—including gender issues and the informal sector—and the challenges that lie ahead for the region, with special attention to pressing demands by the vibrant and vocal middle class, youth unemployment, and indigenous populations.