Minimum Wage Incidence: The Case for Germany

Andreas Knabe and Ronnie Schöb
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Ronnie Schoeb

FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, 2009, vol. 65, issue 4, 403-441

Abstract: This paper analyzes the impact of a statutory minimum wage on employment, wage inequality, public expenditures, and aggregate income in the low-wage sector for two scenarios: a competitive labor market and a monopsonistic labor market. Using data from the 2006 wave of the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP), we show that irrespective of which scenario adequately describes the labor market, a statutory minimum wage reduces employment and raises public expenditures. While aggregate income in the low-wage sector increases, poor households (i.e., those eligible for Unemployment Benefits II), do not benefit from a minimum wage. Wage subsidies at the same fiscal cost ensure more favorable employment effects in both scenarios. However, the workers' income depends on whether we have a competitive or a monopsonistic labor market. A wage subsidy ensures higher household income in a competitive labor market but leads to lower income gains in the monopsonistic scenario. Furthermore, wage subsidies lead to a more equal income distribution than statutory minimum wages, irrespective of their incidence. Combining a minimum wage with a compensating wage subsidy, similar to the French minimum wage system, is extremely costly while still inferior to pure wage subsidies.

Keywords: minimum wage; monopsonistic labor market; wage subsidies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H2 I3 J3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (19)

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DOI: 10.1628/001522108X486598

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