Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of a change in the minimum wage on income distribution and employment in a developing economy. The basic framework of our analysis is the original Harris- Todaro model, in which the only factor that is intersectorally mobile is labor. We analyze the effects of a change in the minimum wage on income distribution, sectoral employment and unemployment, both in the framework of a small open economy, and with endogenous commodity-price changes. Our findings differ from the results of the existing literature and shed light on the complex interaction between the urban and the rural sector of a developing economy.