The industrial revolution was the start of increasing technological advancements that are continuing to grow today. Technology improves accuracy, efficiency and is more productive in comparison to human labor as it does not require breaks and cannot violate any labor laws. With many innovations available today, firms have more options to choose from and can select the relatively cheaper solution. The push for a fifteen-dollar minimum wage affects the firm's options, and the use of technology might increasingly become the more viable choice. This study took data from the years 1993 to 2016 and created two regressions using the unemployment rate and job automation rate as the dependent variables. The independent variables looked at were the year, the population growth rate, the minimum wage, inflation, the gross domestic product growth rate, and the consumer price index. After normality checks and transformations were done two regressions were run, and the models were studied to determine the effects. Both regressions were found to be valid with f-statistics lower than one percent. All the statistically significant variables were retained in the model, and the insignificant variables were omitted to reproduce the regression and check for accuracy. The models with the lower Akaike's information criterion and Bayesian information criterion values were kept and used as the final models. Overall the regressions found that the year and consumer price index had the most substantial effects on the unemployment rate, and the consumer price index had the strongest effect on the automation rate. Limitations on the study include the data available, a possible lag in the effect of the minimum wage, and the possible inaccuracy in using industrial robot installation as a measure for job automation.

Bien qu'il soit désormais établi que les institutions du travail (tel que la syndicalisation et le salaire minimum) aient eu pour effet de réduire l'inégalité des salaires entre les travailleurs au Canada et dans d'autres pays industrialisés, leur impact sur l'inégalité des revenus entre les familles ou les ménages reste incertain. Cette étude a pour but d'estimer l'impact de la densité syndicale et du salaire minimum réel sur l'évolution de l'inégalité des revenus de marché entre les ménages canadiens durant les années 1981 à 2008. À partir d'une base de données qui intègre des données annuelles agrégées par province, et en maintenant constant un ensemble de facteurs, les estimations par effets fixes indiquent que la densité syndicale a réduit l'inégalité des revenus mesurée au moyen du coefficient de Gini, alors que le salaire minimum réel a plutôt eu pour effet d'accroître celle-ci. Les résultats d'estimation indiquent également que le taux d'activité et la scolarité moyenne sont les principaux facteurs à avoir réduit l'inégalité des revenus, alors que le taux de chômage, le changement technologique (mesuré de différentes façons) et l'immigration récente ont contribué à l'accroître. / While some consensus exists that labor institutions (such as unionization and minimum wage) narrowed wages inequality among workers in Canada, as well as in other industrialized countries, there is little agreement about their outcome on income inequality among families or households. This study investigates how union density and real minimum wage affected the evolution of market income inequality among Canadian households between 1981 and 2008. Utilizing a dataset that incorporates annual data aggregated by province, and holding constant for a range of other factors, fix effects estimates indicate that union density narrowed income inequality as measured by the Gini coefficient, while real minimum wage widened it instead. Estimates further suggest that participation rate and educational attainment are the main factors to have dampened income inequality in recent years, whereas unemployment rate, technological change (measured in different ways) and recent immigration are found to have contributed to greater income inequality.

WORKING POOR IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC Abstract Even though poverty is not the death or life question in developed countries it is necessary to pay attention to it. The topic of poverty, social cohesion and social exclusion plays now an increasing role in the EU agenda; working poor started to be explored in 1990s there. Working poor are people poor despite working. Work should serve as a protection of poverty, it should guarantee better living standard to employed people in comparison to those dependent on social protection. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the issue of working poor, to identify them, to find out the reasons why they are poor and to develop measures to help them not to be poor. This thesis brings a comprehensive view on the working poor in the Czech Republic. The focus is on the poverty rate as well as characteristics of working poor. Methods for measuring this phenomenon have not been fully developed yet, there is still not a consensus on the most suitable methods. Different methods are introduced, compared and critically evaluated in the first - theoretically oriented - part of the thesis. Combination and modification of existing methods creates a base for methodology used in this thesis. The core part of the thesis is dedicated to the detailed analysis of working poor in the...

Analyses about aggregate employment, unemployment, and inactivity rates frequently disregard labor market trends of specific household members, which may explain some puzzles in the relationship between economic activity and labor market participation. The relevance of family approaches of labor supply transcends the aggregate macroeconomic trends and addresses important micro-level analysis concerning the behavior and intrahousehold decisions of members and policy-relevant results. Despite the consensus about the joint labor supply decisions of household members, studies are typically at the individual level and disregard sons and daughters as decision-makers in a family. Therefore, in this thesis, we investigate these questions for Brazil, in two studies. In the first study, we analyze the labor supply decisions of sons daughters aged 14 to 24 years living with their parents, in a reduced form exercise. We collaborate to the empirical literature about intrahousehold impacts of policies, testing whether the minimum wage, which affects the income of parents, impacts the final labor supply decisions of sons and daughters. We also verify if the policy has distinct effects depending on whether the eligible person is the father or the mother, aiming to test the income-pooling hypothesis. Our identification strategy is based on an intention-to-treat approach, and in a differences-in-differences estimator. Another innovation is the use of the PNADC (IBGE) for 2012-2016. We find that the direction and magnitude of the minimum wage effects affecting fathers and mothers, on the labor supply of sons and daughters, depend on who is and how many eligible members there exist in the household: it is negative, whether the eligible person is the mother or the father, and it is positive, whether both are eligible. Therefore, our results strengthen the argument in favor of household approaches, since the income pooling hypothesis does not seem to be valid in this context. In the second study, we investigate how the decisions about labor supply could determine the aggregate results of unemployment and inactivity of the secondary household earners. We develop and estimate a structural household job search model with on-the-job search. We extend Dey and Flinn (2008) to allow for unemployment and inactivity of mothers and sons and daughters who are subject to shocks to their employment and income shocks to fathers. These shocks may determine different search behavior and job acceptance, depending on the other household member\'s labor market situation. The model is estimated using the PME (IBGE) for 2004-2014. We perform counterfactual simulations, and we verify that the decreasing unemployment rate of sons/daughters would not have changed between 2004 and 2014 if the labor market opportunities and conditions of this member remain the same. The unemployment rate of mothers does not alter a lot in this period. The increasing trend in the inactivity of sons/daughters is mostly determined by a decreasing encouragement rate and the increasing dropout rate observed among these members in this period. These exogenous factors that determine the move to or the permanence in the inactivity could be related to the lower cost of education. We conclude that the use of individual job search models to understand aggregate unemployment and inactivity can be misleading, since the household search behavior matters in the labor supply decisions of secondary household earners. / As análises sobre taxas agregadas de emprego, desemprego e inatividade frequentemente ignoram a dinâmica dos membros das famílias no mercado de trabalho, a qual pode explicar puzzles na relação entre atividade econômica e participação no mercado de trabalho. A relevância das abordagens familiares para a oferta de trabalho está nas análises macroeconômicas sobre tendências agregadas, e também em análises microeconômicas do comportamento, decisões intrafamiliares e resultados de políticas. Apesar do consenso sobre as decisões conjuntas de oferta de trabalho dos membros da família, grande parte dos estudos são abordagens individuais e desconsideram filhos jovens como tomadores de decisão. Nesta tese, organizada em dois estudos, investigamos essas questões para o Brasil. No primeiro estudo, analisamos a decisão de ofertar trabalho de jovens entre 14 e 24 anos vivendo com os pais, em um exercício de forma reduzida. A tese colabora com a literatura empírica sobre os efeitos intrafamiliares de políticas, ao testar se o salário mínimo que afeta a renda dos pais impacta a decisão final dos filhos de ofertar trabalho. Também testamos a hipótese de agregação da renda, ao verificar se se a política tem efeitos distintos caso a pessoa elegível na família seja a mãe ou o pai. A estratégia de identificação é baseada em uma abordagem de intention-to-treat, e no uso do estimador de diferenças-em-diferenças. Outra inovação é o uso da PNADC (IBGE) para 2012-2016. Verificamos que a direção e a magnitude dos efeitos do salário mínimo dos pais, na oferta de trabalho dos filhos, dependem de quem é e de quantos são os membros elegíveis na família: o efeito é negativo, se a pessoa elegível é a mãe ou o pai, e é positivo, se ambos são elegíveis. Esses resultados reforçam o argumento em favor das abordagens intrafamiliares, uma vez que a hipótese de income-pooling não parece ser válida neste contexto. No segundo estudo, investigamos como as decisões de oferta de trabalho poderiam determinar os resultados agregados de desemprego e inatividade dos membros secundários. Desenvolvemos e estimamos um modelo estrutural de busca por emprego familiar com on-the-jobsearch. Estendemos o modelo de Dey e Flinn (2008), para permitir desemprego e inatividade de mães e filhos, sujeitos a choques em seus empregos e choques na renda dos pais. Esses choques podem determinar diferentes comportamentos de busca e aceitação de emprego, dependendo da situação do outro membro no mercado de trabalho. O modelo é estimado com a PME (IBGE) para 2004-2014. Realizamos simulações contrafactuais e verificamos que a taxa de desemprego dos filhos, decrescente entre 2004 e 2014, não teria se alterado no período, caso as condições e oportunidades de mercado de trabalho dos filhos tivessem continuado as mesmas de 2004. Já a taxa de desemprego das mães não sofre grandes alterações no período. A tendência crescente na inatividade dos filhos é determinada por uma taxa de encorajamento decrescente e uma taxa de desistência crescente, que refletem fatores exógenos que levam jovens trabalhadores à inatividade. Esses fatores exógenos podem estar relacionados ao menor custo da educação no período. Concluímos que o uso de modelos individuais de busca por emprego para entender o desemprego e a inatividade agregados deve ser desencorajado, pois o comportamento de busca familiar importa para as decisões de oferta de trabalho dos membros secundários da família.

Este trabalho analisa o comportamento dos salários agrícolas e estima modelos de determinação de salário de equilíbrio para os trabalhadores temporários e permanentes no Brasil e nas regiões com o setor agropecuário menos e mais tecnificado. Para efeito de análise, tomou-se em consideração o período de 1971 a 1996. O mercado de trabalho agrícola foi segmentado em duas categorias de trabalhadores: temporários e permanentes. Para tanto, considerou-se que nesse mercado de trabalho há duas estruturas salariais distintas (para trabalhadores temporários e permanentes) e que os processos históricos de formação dessas duas categorias de trabalhadores têm características particulares. Para analisar a determinação dos salários agrícolas em termos de regiões, as unidades da Federação foram agrupadas segundo o grau de tecnificação: região menos tecnificada (Acre e os estados da região Nordeste, exceto Piauí) e a região mais tecnificada (estados das regiões Centro-Oeste, Sudeste e Sul). Nos modelos econométricos desenvolvidos foram considerados aspectos inerentes ao mercado de trabalho agrícola e aspecto institucional, no caso o salário mínimo. As equações foram estimadas com os dados em pooling. As análises estatísticas indicaram que os termos de erro das equações estimadas têm estruturas de "componentes" (two way). Para tanto, aplicou-se o procedimento econométrico de Fuller & Battese. Os resultados indicaram que a equação estimada de determinação dos salários dos trabalhadores temporários no Brasil não apresentou bons resultados, sendo que os coeficientes do salário mínimo (WM) e a da relação de preços recebidos e pagos pelos produtores rurais (Pa) não foram estatisticamente significativos. No entanto, nas equações estimadas nas regiões menos e mais tecnificadas, o WM foi altamente significativo estatisticamente. Já o coeficiente estimado da variável Pa não foi significativo estatisticamente para as demais equações. O coeficiente do salário alternativo (WU) foi de sinal positivo e significativo estatisticamente em todas as equações estimadas para o segmento do mercado de trabalho temporário. O coeficiente da produtividade do trabalho (Pmo) também foi significativo estatisticamente e com sinal positivo, exceto para a equação da região mais tecnificada, na qual o sinal foi negativo, isto é, contrário ao esperado. Neste caso verificou-se um processo de transferência de renda do trabalho para o fator de produção capital. As estimativas das equações dos salários dos trabalhadores permanentes no Brasil e nas regiões menos e mais tecnificadas apresentaram comportamentos semelhantes. Das três variáveis explicativas (WM, Pa, Pmo) consideradas nos modelos, apenas o coeficiente de Pa não foi significativo estatisticamente. De modo geral, o coeficiente com maior valor e o mais significativo foi o salário mínimo. Ele tem funcionado como um indexador dos salários agrícolas, tal como evidencia a literatura sobre a mão-de-obra não-qualificada do setor urbano. No entanto, a institucionalização do salário mínimo no mercado de trabalho agrícola não foi suficiente para garantir que os salários dos trabalhadores temporários e permanentes na região menos tecnificada fossem igual ou superior ao mínimo. Apesar do grande crescimento da produtividade do trabalho (Pmo), esta afetou mais significativamente os salários da mão-de-obra permanente. Por outro lado, no caso dos trabalhadores temporários na região mais tecnificada, observe-se uma transferência de renda do fator trabalho ao capital (is to é, o coeficiente de Pmo foi negativo). Dos resultados econométricos obtidos no presente trabalho, pode-se afirmar que a determinação dos salários agrícolas, de modo geral, tem um forte componente institucional (salário mínimo) e os fatores de mercado têm papel menos relevante. / This paper analyzes the performance of rural wages and it also estimates wage equations for temporary and permanent workers. The analyzed time period is 1971 through 1996, and three aggregations of wages were considered: for the entire Brazil, for the region with more sophisticated agriculture and for the region with less sophisticated agriculture. Agricultural labor force was divided into two categories: temporary and permanent workers. It was considered that agricultural labor market has two different wage structures, for temporary and permanent workers, and the historic process of labor market formation created particular features for these workers. The analysis was conducted considering wages paid for entire Brazil and for two regions. The states were aggregated according to their agriculture’s technical level. The state of Acre and Northeast Brazil's states, except the state of Piaui, form the less sophisticated agricultural region. The states of Center-Western, Southeast and Southern Brazil form the more sophisticated agricultural region. In order to determine the econometric equations, both market-oriented variables and institutional variables were considered as independent variables. Minimum wage is the institutional variable considered. By using pooling techniques, rural wage equations were estimated. The error has a componentstructure. Due to that, the Fuller & Battese technique was used. The results for temporary workers' wage equation was not good when wages were aggregated for the entire Brazil. The coefficients for minimum wage (WM) and the ratio between received and paid prices (Pa) were not statistically significant. Better econometric results appeared for temporary workers’ wage equations when wages were aggregated in two regions. The coefficients of minimum wage (WM) were statistically significant. The coefficient of Pa, however, was not statistically significant. The coefficient of alternative wage (WU) was positive and statistically significant. The same results appeared for the labor productivity coefficient (Pmo), except for the temporary workers’ wage equation for the more sophisticated region. In the latter region, income transfer happened from the temporary workers to the capital owners. Similar results were found for permanent workers’ wage equations estimated for the entire Brazil and its two regions. All independents variables but Pa were statistically significant. Generally, the biggest and the most statistically significant coefficient appeared for the minimum wage variable. It has worked as an indexation for the rural wages, in the same way that the economic literature proved it for the unskilled, urban workers. However, the minimum wage law is not enough to prevent the rural workers in receiving a wage below the minimum wage. Despite the huge labor productivity increase, Pmo affected mo re the permanent workers' wages. In the more sophisticated region, there is an income transfer from temporary workers to the capital owners, because the estimated coefficient of Pmo is negative. From the above results, it is possible to state that rural wage is strongly determined by institutional forces, such as minimum wage, and market forces have a smaller influence on rural wages.

Este trabalho analisa o comportamento dos salários agrícolas e estima modelos de determinação de salário de equilíbrio para os trabalhadores temporários e permanentes no Brasil e nas regiões com o setor agropecuário menos e mais tecnificado. Para efeito de análise, tomou-se em consideração o período de 1971 a 1996. O mercado de trabalho agrícola foi segmentado em duas categorias de trabalhadores: temporários e permanentes. Para tanto, considerou-se que nesse mercado de trabalho há duas estruturas salariais distintas (para trabalhadores temporários e permanentes) e que os processos históricos de formação dessas duas categorias de trabalhadores têm características particulares. Para analisar a determinação dos salários agrícolas em termos de regiões, as unidades da Federação foram agrupadas segundo o grau de tecnificação: região menos tecnificada (Acre e os estados da região Nordeste, exceto Piauí) e a região mais tecnificada (estados das regiões Centro-Oeste, Sudeste e Sul). Nos modelos econométricos desenvolvidos foram considerados aspectos inerentes ao mercado de trabalho agrícola e aspecto institucional, no caso o salário mínimo. As equações foram estimadas com os dados em pooling. As análises estatísticas indicaram que os termos de erro das equações estimadas têm estruturas de "componentes" (two way). Para tanto, aplicou-se o procedimento econométrico de Fuller & Battese. Os resultados indicaram que a equação estimada de determinação dos salários dos trabalhadores temporários no Brasil não apresentou bons resultados, sendo que os coeficientes do salário mínimo (WM) e a da relação de preços recebidos e pagos pelos produtores rurais (Pa) não foram estatisticamente significativos. No entanto, nas equações estimadas nas regiões menos e mais tecnificadas, o WM foi altamente significativo estatisticamente. Já o coeficiente estimado da variável Pa não foi significativo estatisticamente para as demais equações. O coeficiente do salário alternativo (WU) foi de sinal positivo e significativo estatisticamente em todas as equações estimadas para o segmento do mercado de trabalho temporário. O coeficiente da produtividade do trabalho (Pmo) também foi significativo estatisticamente e com sinal positivo, exceto para a equação da região mais tecnificada, na qual o sinal foi negativo, isto é, contrário ao esperado. Neste caso verificou-se um processo de transferência de renda do trabalho para o fator de produção capital. As estimativas das equações dos salários dos trabalhadores permanentes no Brasil e nas regiões menos e mais tecnificadas apresentaram comportamentos semelhantes. Das três variáveis explicativas (WM, Pa, Pmo) consideradas nos modelos, apenas o coeficiente de Pa não foi significativo estatisticamente. De modo geral, o coeficiente com maior valor e o mais significativo foi o salário mínimo. Ele tem funcionado como um indexador dos salários agrícolas, tal como evidencia a literatura sobre a mão-de-obra não-qualificada do setor urbano. No entanto, a institucionalização do salário mínimo no mercado de trabalho agrícola não foi suficiente para garantir que os salários dos trabalhadores temporários e permanentes na região menos tecnificada fossem igual ou superior ao mínimo. Apesar do grande crescimento da produtividade do trabalho (Pmo), esta afetou mais significativamente os salários da mão-de-obra permanente. Por outro lado, no caso dos trabalhadores temporários na região mais tecnificada, observe-se uma transferência de renda do fator trabalho ao capital (is to é, o coeficiente de Pmo foi negativo). Dos resultados econométricos obtidos no presente trabalho, pode-se afirmar que a determinação dos salários agrícolas, de modo geral, tem um forte componente institucional (salário mínimo) e os fatores de mercado têm papel menos relevante. / This paper analyzes the performance of rural wages and it also estimates wage equations for temporary and permanent workers. The analyzed time period is 1971 through 1996, and three aggregations of wages were considered: for the entire Brazil, for the region with more sophisticated agriculture and for the region with less sophisticated agriculture. Agricultural labor force was divided into two categories: temporary and permanent workers. It was considered that agricultural labor market has two different wage structures, for temporary and permanent workers, and the historic process of labor market formation created particular features for these workers. The analysis was conducted considering wages paid for entire Brazil and for two regions. The states were aggregated according to their agriculture’s technical level. The state of Acre and Northeast Brazil's states, except the state of Piaui, form the less sophisticated agricultural region. The states of Center-Western, Southeast and Southern Brazil form the more sophisticated agricultural region. In order to determine the econometric equations, both market-oriented variables and institutional variables were considered as independent variables. Minimum wage is the institutional variable considered. By using pooling techniques, rural wage equations were estimated. The error has a componentstructure. Due to that, the Fuller & Battese technique was used. The results for temporary workers' wage equation was not good when wages were aggregated for the entire Brazil. The coefficients for minimum wage (WM) and the ratio between received and paid prices (Pa) were not statistically significant. Better econometric results appeared for temporary workers’ wage equations when wages were aggregated in two regions. The coefficients of minimum wage (WM) were statistically significant. The coefficient of Pa, however, was not statistically significant. The coefficient of alternative wage (WU) was positive and statistically significant. The same results appeared for the labor productivity coefficient (Pmo), except for the temporary workers’ wage equation for the more sophisticated region. In the latter region, income transfer happened from the temporary workers to the capital owners. Similar results were found for permanent workers’ wage equations estimated for the entire Brazil and its two regions. All independents variables but Pa were statistically significant. Generally, the biggest and the most statistically significant coefficient appeared for the minimum wage variable. It has worked as an indexation for the rural wages, in the same way that the economic literature proved it for the unskilled, urban workers. However, the minimum wage law is not enough to prevent the rural workers in receiving a wage below the minimum wage. Despite the huge labor productivity increase, Pmo affected mo re the permanent workers' wages. In the more sophisticated region, there is an income transfer from temporary workers to the capital owners, because the estimated coefficient of Pmo is negative. From the above results, it is possible to state that rural wage is strongly determined by institutional forces, such as minimum wage, and market forces have a smaller influence on rural wages.

經濟發展與財富分配一直以來是國家所面臨的兩難處境。經濟發展的過程中不可避免會產生財富集中於特定階級的現象，所得極化產生的弊端使得歐美國家不得不採取公共政策介入工資協商。其一是制訂最低工資迫使資方給付此等數額以上之工資，其二則是以一組工資政策制度設計令勞工能以集體力量就工資與資方進行協商（或連同政府形成三方對談），此二政策皆是在避免分配問題惡化造成社會不安，同時兩者皆是試圖對市場工資進行規制，因而在效果上有重疊的部份，功能上也相互影響。最低工資政策與工資政策或分由國家與勞資雙方各別制訂，或皆在勞、資、政三方協商下形成，並沒有一固定模式出現，端視該國工業關係而異。 基本（最低）工資政策在我國則因特殊的工業關係與強勢的國家機關有著截然不同的發展。早期台灣的國家機關傾向追求經濟發展，在相對弱勢的社會團體（包含勞資雙方）之前對工資議題採嚴密控制的態度，避免工資受政治力量影響而造成台灣在國際市場上的比較利益優勢受損，因而在基本工資政策上採取謹慎調整、甚或不調整的策略。同時在工資政策上因工會的低度發展，工資協商只出現在少許產業，這使台灣的市場工資長期維持在一相當低的水準，具議價功能的工會如此發展更是因為國家機關政治動員與經濟動員策略對工會功能造成的扭曲。因而在早期台灣基本工資政策的效用不彰，團體協商也受到普遍的漠視。 然而1980年以後巨幅變遷的國際與國內政經環境迫使國家機關必須調整其在工資議題上的態度。首先在國際間來自主要出口貿易國對貿易條件的異議使得台灣不能再以低工資為其發展策略，這使得國家必須正視勞動基準與工會發展的問題；其次，後進亞洲國家與台灣在國際市場上競價的結果使得低工資產品的獲利空間日益縮小，因而台灣面臨產業結構調整的壓力，這使得國家機關毋需再刻意維持低市場工資的局面，反而需要制訂出較高的勞動基準迫使勞力密集產業自然淘汰或遷往海外，加速國內的產業升級；再者，國內政治民主化改變了國家-社會間的關係，蓬勃的勞工運動與變遷的政商關係使得工業關係也有了與以往不同的發展。在1988年基本工資審議辦法通過後，基本工資政策便進入了逐年審議調整的制度化階段，政府試圖將經濟發展所帶來的利益與勞工分享，降低發展過程中日益惡化的分配問題。但政院通過之基本工資與審議機制議定結果往往有相當大的差異，在制訂過程間不但各方在認知上有極大的落差，對制訂結果也是爭議不斷，這使得原先欲降低分配爭議的基本工資調整反而成為另一爭議的起源。 其中經濟部門不只一次表達廢除基本工資制度的看法，但我們可發現自1988年以後政府非但沒有廢止基本工資的跡象，其還是在爭議不斷的聲浪中逐年進行調整。我們認為政府對基本工資積極調整的態度與基本工資所連動的勞保投保工資有極大的關係。由於勞工保險在1980年代中期突然出現大幅虧損，同時人口結構老化、職業工會投保者日眾等結構性問題亦難以克服，逐年調整的基本工資便成為改善政府財政危機的一大利器。不過隨著外勞引進日增，同樣受到基本工資連動的外勞工資讓雇主團體對基本工資調整極為反彈，而諸多社會保險的開辦也令勞工團體在投保薪資調整上採取抵制的態度，反映在基本工資政策上便是基本工資與其他工資脫勾及勞資自由協商的聲浪日起。 1996年政府在基本工資政策上有了重大的調整，自1997年起將原先基本工資的政策草案形成委由勞資雙方先行協商，再由政院通過基本工資調整案。基本工資決策權雖仍在行政機關之手，但政策形成卻讓勞資雙方有了更大的參與空間。不過，日後的發展卻也印證了本研究的觀察，勞資雙方在社會保險工資上有著共同利益因而達成基本工資脫勾的協議，甚至為迴避基本工資調整對外勞工資的影響，1997年的勞資談判反而形成了製造業調薪3%的協議。然而最終還是因為我國工資政策制度設計的問題，這項協議並沒有通過，而基本工資調整還是回歸至行政機關完成。 本研究發現在台灣由於國家機關自主性與工業關係在不同階段有不同的發展，使得基本工資政策呈現出了不同的面貌。80年代之前，國家強大的自主性與組織勞動者的弱勢使得國家機關能夠充分遂行政權穩定與經濟成長的目的，國家機關排除任何影響工資決定制訂因素的結果使得台灣的市場工資長期維持在一相當低的幅度，卻也使得基本工資處於長期僵化的局面。然而，隨著政治民主化與工業關係的轉變，國家機關漸需正視民間社會對社會正當性的要求，合理分配利益的呼聲也日起；同時，國際政經環境的變遷也使得低工資出口的優勢不再，甚至可能因而生成貿易失衡的問題。這些因素皆使得政府在勞動政策上做出一連串改變，反映在基本工資政策上即是基本工資政策制度化與逐年調整原則的生成。但政策形成開放民間參與使得國家機關在制訂基本工資政策上的自主性逐漸降低，勞資利益衝突的問題日漸浮現；而社會安全網絡財政危機的加劇與外籍勞工的開放引進也為基本工資調整增添新的變數，進而影響基本工資政策的發展，使得台灣基本工資政策呈現出迥異於歐美國家的面貌。 第一章 緒論 第一節 研究動機、目的與範圍 第二節 文獻回顧 第二章 最低工資政策與工資政策 第一節 最低工資政策演進、概念與模式 一、工資制度之歷史演進 二、基本工資的政策概念與政策模式 第二節 發展中國家的最低工資政策與工資政策 第三章 理論架構 第一節 理論觀點--國家理論 一、社會中心觀點 二、國家中心觀點 三、Block與Offe的國家理論 第二節 研究途徑-歷史制度取向 第四章 台灣基本工資政策之形成與持續（1956-1987） 第一節 從經濟管制到經濟計畫 第二節 政策草案階段 第三節 低工資政策制度設計 第四節 小結 第五章 基本工資政策的發展與轉變（1988-1996） 第一節 工資政策的轉變 一、勞動政策的轉變 二、工業關係 第二節 制度化的基本工資政策 一、基本工資政策轉變的背景 二、基本工資政策的制度化過程 第三節 基本工資政策的轉變 一、基本工資公式政治化 二、外勞工資之因素 三、勞保財務因素 第四節 小結 第六章 結論 參考書目

The three essays in this dissertation progressively answer the following questions: (a) How important are constraints? (b) Who benefits from removing constraints? (c) When does a constraint for a single market predominantly affect closely related markets? These questions are applied in the context of time, weather, and minimum wage constraints, respectively. The first essay demonstrates that constraints matter. A data envelopment analysis capacity utilization methodology is used to measure impacts on sales from a sequential relaxation of the time and income constraints. Using a subsample bootstrap to estimate confidence intervals, results show that time matters more than income, particularly in fall and winter when other activities compete for gardening time. The second essay shows that the poor are least likely to gain from the relaxation of non-income constraints. A theory of demand is developed in which consumers face multiple constraints. Then, a structural model is used to econometrically estimate the effect of global warming on demand, using nursery data on flowering plants. The model shows that there exists a tipping point around 64 degrees Fahrenheit, above which demand ceases to be climate-constrained. The third essay shows that a constraint in a single market can sometimes have more profound consequences on other, more distantly related markets. First, it is proven that if a series of markets are structured like a chain-- where only own and neighboring prices matter--then a shock to one market decreases with distance. The case of minimum wages in Oregon is investigated using a large panel dataset for all workers in Oregon using a first difference econometric model. It is determined that the ripple effects of the minimum have even larger effects on higher-wage earners, disconfirming the chain pattern. High substitutions between low and high wage groups may explain the pattern. Altogether the essays further the understanding of constraints to demonstrate that (a) constraints significantly affect economic outcomes, (b) if one constraint is lifted, those individuals alternately-constrained are left behind from any benefits, and (c) constraints to a single market may have unintended and sometimes larger effects on 'farther' markets. / Graduation date: 2012

Bien qu'il soit désormais établi que les institutions du travail (tel que la syndicalisation et le salaire minimum) aient eu pour effet de réduire l'inégalité des salaires entre les travailleurs au Canada et dans d'autres pays industrialisés, leur impact sur l'inégalité des revenus entre les familles ou les ménages reste incertain. Cette étude a pour but d'estimer l'impact de la densité syndicale et du salaire minimum réel sur l'évolution de l'inégalité des revenus de marché entre les ménages canadiens durant les années 1981 à 2008. À partir d'une base de données qui intègre des données annuelles agrégées par province, et en maintenant constant un ensemble de facteurs, les estimations par effets fixes indiquent que la densité syndicale a réduit l'inégalité des revenus mesurée au moyen du coefficient de Gini, alors que le salaire minimum réel a plutôt eu pour effet d'accroître celle-ci. Les résultats d'estimation indiquent également que le taux d'activité et la scolarité moyenne sont les principaux facteurs à avoir réduit l'inégalité des revenus, alors que le taux de chômage, le changement technologique (mesuré de différentes façons) et l'immigration récente ont contribué à l'accroître. / While some consensus exists that labor institutions (such as unionization and minimum wage) narrowed wages inequality among workers in Canada, as well as in other industrialized countries, there is little agreement about their outcome on income inequality among families or households. This study investigates how union density and real minimum wage affected the evolution of market income inequality among Canadian households between 1981 and 2008. Utilizing a dataset that incorporates annual data aggregated by province, and holding constant for a range of other factors, fix effects estimates indicate that union density narrowed income inequality as measured by the Gini coefficient, while real minimum wage widened it instead. Estimates further suggest that participation rate and educational attainment are the main factors to have dampened income inequality in recent years, whereas unemployment rate, technological change (measured in different ways) and recent immigration are found to have contributed to greater income inequality.

This study reflects on the swedish model and the models future. The swedish model means that legisilation acts with the collective agreements . The wage issue is not regulated by law instead it is managed by the social partners in the form of collective agreements. In 2008, a report was presented by the Commission on a joint regulation of the minimum wage for all EU countries. The issue has become increasingly controversial and was especially disccused for the election of candidates to the European Parlament last spring. Such regulation as the comission proposed leads to a threat to the Swedish labour model. Therefore the aim of this study was to illuminate the Swedish model and to study alternative solutions to the model in an international perspective. A method with sociology of law perspective was chosen and considered suitable to answer the purpose of the study. This study indicates that the swedish model is a succesfull model but the model is facing several challenges. Due to the swedish membership in EU we have to considerate both national and international law and these are not allways compatible. The model embrace a high number of employees but there are some groups of people that are excluded. Thoose who are excluded are not organized in the union like post workers and young adult workers. It is abious that the model sustains limits and there fore a good complement could be collective agreements with erga omnes effect.