Minimum Wage and Real Wage Inequality: Evidence from Pass-Through to Retail Prices

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-47
Author(s):  
Justin H. Leung
Keyword(s):  
Minimum Wage ◽  
Wage Inequality ◽  
Real Wage ◽  
Grocery Store ◽  
Labor Costs ◽  
Product Demand ◽  
Retail Prices ◽  
Retail Chains ◽  
Pass Through ◽  
The Impact

This paper considers the impact of the minimum wage on both labor and product markets using detailed store-level scanner data. I provide empirical evidence that a 10% increase in the minimum wage raises grocery store prices by 0.6%-0.8%, and suggest that the minimum wage not only raises labor costs but also affects product demand, especially in poorer regions. This points to novel channels of heterogeneity in pass-through that have distributional consequences, with key implications for real wage inequality. I also find that price rigidity within retail chains ameliorates these effects, reducing the pass-through elasticity for retail prices by about 60%.

scholarly journals The impact of a minimum wage change on the distribution of wages and household income

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Redmond ◽  
Karina Doorley ◽  
Seamus McGuinness
Keyword(s):  
Income Distribution ◽  
Minimum Wage ◽  
Wage Inequality ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Spillover Effects ◽  
Wage Distribution ◽  
Wage Increase ◽  
Minimum Wage Increase ◽  
Wage Change ◽  
The Impact

Abstract We use distribution regression analysis to study the impact of a 6% increase in the Irish minimum wage on the distribution of hourly wages and household income. Wage inequality, measured by the ratio of wages in the 90th and 10th percentiles and the 75th and 25th percentiles, decreased by approximately 8 and 4%, respectively. The results point towards wage spillover effects up to the 30th percentile of the wage distribution. We show that minimum wage workers are spread throughout the household income distribution and are often located in high-income households. Therefore, while we observe strong effects on the wage distribution, the impact of a minimum wage increase on the household income distribution is quite limited.

scholarly journals The Pass-Through of Minimum Wages into US Retail Prices: Evidence from Supermarket Scanner Data

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-99
Author(s):  
Tobias Renkin ◽  
Claire Montialoux ◽  
Michael Siegenthaler
Keyword(s):  
Minimum Wage ◽  
State Level ◽  
Minimum Wages ◽  
Scanner Data ◽  
Consumer Prices ◽  
Retail Prices ◽  
Minimum Wage Legislation ◽  
Pass Through ◽  
Wage Increases ◽  
Grocery Products

This paper estimates the pass-through of minimum wage increases into the prices of US grocery and drug stores. We use high-frequency scanner data and leverage a large number of state-level increases in minimum wages between 2001 and 2012. We find that a 10% minimum wage hike translates into a 0.36% increase in the prices of grocery products. This magnitude is consistent with a full pass-through of cost increases into consumer prices. We show that price adjustments occur mostly in the three months following the passage of minimum wage legislation rather than after implementation, suggesting that pricing of groceries is forward-looking.

Minimum Wages and Supporting Wage Growth

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Nolan
Keyword(s):  
Minimum Wage ◽  
Real Wage ◽  
Wage Growth ◽  
Minimum Wages ◽  
Central Question ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Household Incomes ◽  
Rich Countries ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Over Time

This chapter addresses the central question of how governments can seek to underpin real wage growth for working households over time. It looks first at the role that minimum wages can play in supporting wages and household incomes in the middle as well as lower parts of the distribution. This is investigated through a simulation exercise looking at the impact of a substantial increase in the minimum wage in the UK, bringing out the broader lessons to be learned for rich countries. A variety of other routes through which policy might seek to support wage growth are then set out and discussed.

Wynagrodzenie minimalne a ubóstwo, nierówności dochodowe i bezrobocie w Polsce

2016 ◽  
pp. 87-100
Author(s):  
Aneta Mikuła
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Minimum Wage ◽  
Policy Instrument ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
Labor Costs ◽  
Average Salary ◽  
Wage Policy ◽  
Social Functions ◽  
The Impact

The minimum wage is the wage policy instrument, entailing both economic and social consequences. Supporters of the minimum wage emphasize its role in reducing poverty and reducing income inequalities. In turn, opponents focus on its economic effects, i.e. increase in labor costs and decline in employment. The article focuses on identifying the impact of the minimum wage on reducing poverty and income inequality. The first part contains definitions and the economic and social functions of the minimum wage. The next section presents changes in the minimal salary level in Poland and its relation to the average salary in the years 2003–2014. The rest of the article attempts to assess the effectiveness of raising the minimum wage in combating poverty and reducing income inequality. The effectiveness of this solution is minimal, both in terms of the whole society, as well as socio-economic group, which should benefit most from these effects, i.e. employees.

scholarly journals Impact of the Minimum Wage on Wages and Wage Inequality in 2019

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 21-35
Author(s):  
Lyudmila Migranova ◽  
Raisa Popova
Keyword(s):  
Minimum Wage ◽  
Wage Inequality ◽  
Socioeconomic Development ◽  
Spatial Inequality ◽  
Wage Distribution ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
Minimum Level ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Subsistence Minimum ◽  
The Impact

The Object of the Study. Wages in Russiya and in its regionsThe Subject of the Study. Levels and differentiation of wages The Purpose of the Study is examining the impact of raising the minimum wage up to the subsistence minimum level of the able-bodied population in 2018-2019 on the dynamics of the main characteristics of wages at the federal and regional levels. The Main Propositions of the Article. The problem of spatial inequality includes socioeconomic inequality of the population which primarily depends on work remuneration as the main source of monetary income of households. The problems of work remuneration in the post-Soviet period are well-known – low levels, relatively high wage differentiation including cross-sectoral and cross-regional disparities. These were caused to a large extent by the low level of the minimum wage in the country. In May 2018 the minimum wage was raised up to the subsistence minimum level (poverty line) of the able-bodied population. Using the data from the wage surveys conducted by Rosstat in 2017 and 2019 the authors analyse the shifts in wage distribution of workers in Russiya and in its regions. The increase in the minimum wage resulted in a decline in the general differentiation of wages across the country and in the vast majority of regions, in reduction of the intra-industry and cross-regional differences. In 2019 the funds ratio (ratio of mean wages of the upper and the bottom deciles) exceeded 10 only in six regions, while in 2017 there were 29 such regions. In 2017 that ratio was below 8 only in 6 regions, in 2019 – in 45 regions, and in most of them (26) the average wage was 3 times below the subsistence minimum level of the able-bodied population. The analysis has shown that the low level of wages of most employees still remains an urgent problem, and reduction in wage inequality also has the reverse aspect. We know from the Soviet experience that low (as well as high) level of wage inequality does not promote work incentives and socioeconomic development of territories.

scholarly journals The Effect of Provincial Minimum Wage on Wage Inequality in Java

2019 ◽  
pp. 352-357
Author(s):  
Daniel Bastian Lubis ◽  
Syamsul Hidayat Pasaribu ◽  
Muhammad Findi
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Labor Force ◽  
Minimum Wage ◽  
Wage Inequality ◽  
Wage Gap ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Minimum Wages ◽  
Wage Distribution ◽  
Wage Setting ◽  
The Impact

The minimum wage setting policy as an effort to improve wage distribution and expected to reduce income inequality is still being a debate in the literatures. However, similar studies, especially those that examine the impact of establishing minimum wages on the conditions of wages for workers in different percentile groups, have not been widely practiced in Indonesia. This study aims to analyze the increase in effective minimum wages against the wage gap of workers in the period 2008-2017 in Java using the National Labor Force Survey (Sakernas) data. Through the OLS method, we find that the impact of minimum wages is not the same among percentile groups. The effective minimum wage has a negative impact on the wage 30th percentile group where an increase in effective wage will reduces the gap between the 30th percentile and the 50th percentile. We find different result on 60th percentile. On this percentile, the effective minimum wage will increases the gap between the 60th percentile and the 50th percentile, this result implies a spillover.

scholarly journals The effect of alcohol tax changes on retail prices: how do on-trade alcohol retailers pass through tax changes to consumers?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke B. Wilson ◽  
Robert Pryce ◽  
Colin Angus ◽  
Rosemary Hiscock ◽  
Alan Brennan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Panel Data ◽  
Sparkling Wine ◽  
Excise Duty ◽  
Price Distribution ◽  
Market Research Company ◽  
Quantile Regression Analysis ◽  
Retail Prices ◽  
Pass Through ◽  
Tax Changes ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe effectiveness of alcohol duty increases relies on alcohol retailers passing the tax increase on to consumers. This study uses sales data from a market research company to investigate tax pass-through over 11 years for on-premise retailers in England and whether this varies across the price distribution, for different beverage categories and outlet types. Panel data quantile regression analysis is used to estimate the impact of 12 excise duty changes and 3 sales tax changes between 2007 and 2017 on prices. We use product-level quarterly panel data from for 777 alcoholic products. We undertake the regression at all outlets level separating products are analysed in seven broad beverage categories (Beer, Cider, RTDs, Spirits, Wine, Sparkling Wine, and Fortified Wine). We further test sensitivity by disaggregating outlets into seven outlet types. For all seven broad beverage categories, we find that there exists significant differences in tax pass-through across the price distribution. Retailers appear to “undershift” cheaper beverages (prices rise by less than the tax increase) and subsidise this loss in revenue with an “overshift” in the relatively more expensive products. Future modelling of tax change impacts on population subgroups could incorporate this evidence, and this is important because different socio-economic and drinker groups purchase alcohol at different points on the price distribution and hence are affected differently by tax changes. Governments could also potentially incorporate this evidence into future impact assessments.

How Does Assortment Affect Grocery Store Choice?

2009 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 176-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard A. Briesch ◽  
Pradeep K. Chintagunta ◽  
Edward J. Fox
Keyword(s):  
General Structure ◽  
Grocery Store ◽  
Store Choice ◽  
Market Basket ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Consumer Values ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Retail Prices ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Positive Effect

The authors investigate the impact of product assortments, along with convenience, prices, and feature advertising, on consumers’ grocery store choice decisions. Extending recent research on store choice, they add assortments as a predictor, specify a general structure for heterogeneity, and estimate store choice and category needs models simultaneously. Using household-level market basket data, the authors find that, in general, assortments are more important than retail prices in store choice decisions. They find that the number of brands offered in retail assortments has a positive effect on store choice for most households, while the number of stockkeeping units per brand, sizes per brand, and proportion of stockkeeping units that are unique to the store (a proxy for presence of private labels) have a negative effect on store choice for most households. They also find more heterogeneity in response to assortment than to either convenience or price. Therefore, optimal assortments depend on the particular preferences of a retailer's shoppers. Finally, the authors find a correlation in household-level responses to assortment and travel distance (r = .43), which suggests that the less important an assortment is to a consumer's store choices, the more the consumer values convenience, and vice versa.

The influence of inflation targeting on the pass-through effect of the exchange rate

2018 ◽  
pp. 70-84
Author(s):  
Ph. S. Kartaev ◽  
Yu. I. Yakimova
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Monetary Policy ◽  
Exchange Rate ◽  
Inflation Targeting ◽  
Policy Regime ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
The Exchange Rate ◽  
Pass Through ◽  
The Impact

The paper studies the impact of the transition to the inflation targeting regime on the magnitude of the pass-through effect of the exchange rate to prices. We analyze cross-country panel data on developed and developing countries. It is shown that the transition to this regime of monetary policy contributes to a significant reduction in both the short- and long-term pass-through effects. This decline is stronger in developing countries. We identify the main channels that ensure the influence of the monetary policy regime on the pass-through effect, and examine their performance. In addition, we analyze the data of time series for Russia. It was concluded that even there the transition to inflation targeting led to a decrease in the dependence of the level of inflation on fluctuations in the ruble exchange rate.

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