<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>This paper presents and describes a new database of major minimum wage and collective bargaining (CB) shocks covering 26 advanced economies over the period 1970–2020. The main advantage of this dataset is the precise identification of the nature and date of major shocks, which is valuable in many empirical applications. Based on the dataset, we observe that major changes in minimum wages have been more frequent than in CB in the last decades, and the majority of these were implemented during the 1980s and 1990s. In our empirical application, we find that minimum wage policy reductions have a medium-run positive impact on labor productivity and they lead to a fall in the unemployment rate. CB policy liberalizations do not seem to affect either productivity or capital formation, but they have a clear medium-term effect on the labor market. Moreover, CB policy liberalizations are characterized by a greater sensitivity to the prevailing business cycle conditions at the time of the shock (vis-à-vis minimum wage reforms).</p>
</abstract>

This paper presents and describes a new database of major minimum wage and collective bargaining (CB) shocks covering 26 advanced economies over the period 1970–2020. The main advantage of this dataset is the precise identification of the nature and date of major shocks, which is valuable in many empirical applications. Based on the dataset, we observe that major changes in minimum wages have been more frequent than in CB in the last decades, and the majority of these were implemented during the 1980s and 1990s. In our empirical application, we find that minimum wage policy reductions have a medium-run positive impact on labor productivity and they lead to a fall in the unemployment rate. CB policy liberalizations do not seem to affect either productivity or capital formation, but they have a clear medium-term effect on the labor market. Moreover, CB policy liberalizations are characterized by a greater sensitivity to the prevailing business cycle conditions at the time of the shock (vis-à-vis minimum wage reforms).

Minimum wage and collective bargaining shocks: a narrative database for advanced economies

School of Economics and Management, Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão (ISEG)

Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão (ISEG)

Economics for Policy, Nova School of Business and Economics

IZA Journal of Labor Policy

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

This paper presents and describes a new database of major minimum wage and collective bargaining (CB) shocks covering 26 advanced economies over the period...

Minimum wage and collective bargaining shocks: a narrative database for advanced economies

Publié en ligne: 23 juil. 2023

Pages: -

Reçu: 20 sept. 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/izajolp-2023-0001

Mots clés
labor market policies, minimum wage, collective bargaining, labor productivity, growth, local projection

© 2023 António Afonso et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Minimum wage and collective bargaining shocks: a narrative database for advanced economies

Publié en ligne: 23 juil. 2023

Pages: -

Reçu: 20 sept. 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/izajolp-2023-0001

Mots cléslabor market policies, minimum wage, collective bargaining, labor productivity, growth, local projection

© 2023 António Afonso et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Mots clés
labor market policies, minimum wage, collective bargaining, labor productivity, growth, local projection