The role of inequality in development has been the subject of long-standing debates in academic and policy circles. Notwithstanding disagreements about exactly how the two are linked, conventional wisdom agrees that inequality is an objective 'fact' that can be measured free from ideological considerations. New data detect trends towards higher inequality, weaker economic positions for those at the bottom, and a concentration of wealth at the very top of the distribution in most regions. Inequality studies as currently practiced are ill-equipped to accommodate the empirical changes and the resulting theoretical implications. Putting an end to over half a century of mainstream consensus assuming that inequality would automatically recede with developmental progress, the discipline needs rethinking. My thesis proposes a new research agenda for studying inequality that is not only able to integrate these empirical developments, but which also challenges what has been taken for granted: that inequality just is, independently of context, time and observer. Instead, it proposes that along with its objective existence, inequality is a relational phenomenon subjectively experienced relative to a particular context. In five interconnected Sections, my dissertation challenges conventional views of how inequality looks, how it is seen, and what can be done about it, especially in developing countries. The study focuses on the ways in which inequality is perceived, and how it is perpetuated. After an introduction to the subject in Section I, Section II investigates how inadequate measurement perpetuates inequality, proposing a new indicator that shows that inequality is largely defined in the extreme ends of the income distribution. Section III examines the reproduction of inequality at the bottom, contrasting minimum wage policies over recent decades in Mexico with those of other countries in Latin America. In light of a political economy resistant to change, Section IV scrutinizes Mexican elites, exploring how inequality is perceived from the very top of the income distribution, how this affects policy-making and, subsequently, measured inequality levels. Section V concludes by outlining the theoretical and practical implications of my findings.

This text will take you on a journey to the Far East – Bangladesh to be more specific. Inspring 2008 I went there to find some answers to the question of wages. I wanted to know if achange in focus from minimum wages to living wages could be achievable. The question willunfortunately remain unsolved at the end of the essay. To predict the future would beimpossible. Instead three possible scenarios are presented. The likelihood of each and everyscenario is later discussed. The conclusions at the end of the essay are based on an analysis ofthe theories presented and the interviews proceeded.The starting point for the research is the relocation strategies of corporations, which areoutlined in the background chapter. This chapter also contains information about the garmentindustry in Bangladesh. The main research question is if there can be a shift from minimumwages to living wages in Bangladesh. In order to bring clarity to the question, three subquestions have been used. The first question looks into how wages are determined in theexport-oriented garment industry in Bangladesh. The second question concerns thecorporations’ responsibility for their workers. The third, and last, question addresses howcultural dimensions influence the corporations and how wages are set. To find the answers tothe sub questions I divided the research into four main topics: “Wages – Minimum and LivingWages”, “Morality, Ethics and Business Ethics”, “Employees as Stakeholders of theCompanies” and “The Cultural Dimension”. The topics are dealt with in separate chapters.The chapters contain a theoretical overview, as well as the information gathered from theinterviews.The chapters are followed by a further analysis of the empirical findings. The chapter onwages contains an in-depth explanation of the difference between minimum wages and livingwages. In the conducted study all workers were paid the minimum wage in coherence with thelaw. This wage was however much lower than what the definition of a living wage declares.Therefore many workers did over-time in order to reach a higher standard of living. Businessethics and the stakeholder theory will be used to discuss the opportunities and limitations ofthe responsibility of the corporations for their workers. The scholar Hofstede’s system ofmeasuring national cultural values will be used to look into specific cultural aspects.According to his system, Bangladesh has a high ranking in power distance, a low ranking inindividualism and a middle ranking in masculinity. These three dimensions will be discussed;both correlations and exceptions found in this study will be presented.The three possible scenarios for a change are presented in the conclusions. Firstly, theminimum wages could be changed into living wages, if the government decides on raising thewages of the garment workers. Secondly, the mentality amongst management could provide asolution to the change in focus. If managers could find advantages in paying their workersmore, it would open up for a brand new wage system. Thirdly, changes could come from theworkers themselves, through unification in the regard. This has however been valued as lesslikely to happen, because of the power distance prevailing in the country. / Program: Textilekonomutbildningen

Na tradição da teoria de relações de trabalho, os salários monetários são determinados em um sistema de relações de trabalho. Um dos modos de regulação do sistema de relações de trabalho é a negociação coletiva. O Plano Real inaugurou um novo paradigma para as negociações salariais no país quando acabou com os reajustes automáticos após 30 anos de indexação de preços e salários, o que significou uma nova dinâmica dos salários nominais, que passaram a depender, principalmente, dos resultados de negociações coletivas e de decisões unilaterais dos empregadores. O presente trabalho buscou analisar os salários monetários determinados por negociação coletiva em um cenário de baixa inflação e desindexação salarial. Foram analisados os determinantes dos resultados das negociações salariais em 16 unidades selecionadas da indústria do Rio Grande do Sul entre 1996 e 2011. Os resultados da análise de regressão indicaram que, entre 1996 e 2011, os resultados dos reajustes salariais negociados foram influenciados (i) pela taxa de desemprego, (ii) pelo nível de emprego, (iii) pela variação no produto da indústria, (iv) pela razão entre os custos do trabalho e os custos totais de produção, (v) pela variação no salário mínimo oficial, e (vi) pela presença do Partido dos Trabalhadores no governo federal. Quanto aos resultados para os pisos salariais negociados, estes dependeram (i) da variação no produto da indústria, (ii) da inflação, e (iii) da variação no piso regional oficial. / Collective bargaining is a method of regulating the employer relationship, including the setting of nominal wages, whose study is deeply rooted in the tradition of Industrial Relations. In Brazil, collective bargaining has been carried out since 1994 under an economic context characterized by low inflation and no legal guarantee for wage adjustments. A stabilization plan called Plano Real after the new currency suppressed the formal machinery of wage indexation, with the exception of minimum wages, as well as brought about a period of lower inflation. The revocation of the wage indexation laws caused nominal wages increase to depend either on collective agreements or on employers´ unilateral decisions. This essay aims at analysing wage determination under collective bargaining in Brazil by taking account of the context of low inflation and no legal indexation of wages. The outcomes of wage bargaining related to 16 units in manufacturing in the state of Rio Grande do Sul between 1996 and 2011 provide the set for the empirical study. A regression analysis suggests that the bargaining of nominal wages adjustments has been affected by (i) the rate of unemployment, (ii) the level of employment in manufacturing, (iii) change in the manufacturing product, (iv) the ratio of labour costs to total costs of production, (v) change in the official minimum wage, and (vi) the presence of the Workers Party in office beginning in 2003. As for negotiated minimum wages, outcomes has been influenced by (i) change in the manufacturing product, (ii) the rate of inflation, and (iii) change in the official minimum wage.

Na tradição da teoria de relações de trabalho, os salários monetários são determinados em um sistema de relações de trabalho. Um dos modos de regulação do sistema de relações de trabalho é a negociação coletiva. O Plano Real inaugurou um novo paradigma para as negociações salariais no país quando acabou com os reajustes automáticos após 30 anos de indexação de preços e salários, o que significou uma nova dinâmica dos salários nominais, que passaram a depender, principalmente, dos resultados de negociações coletivas e de decisões unilaterais dos empregadores. O presente trabalho buscou analisar os salários monetários determinados por negociação coletiva em um cenário de baixa inflação e desindexação salarial. Foram analisados os determinantes dos resultados das negociações salariais em 16 unidades selecionadas da indústria do Rio Grande do Sul entre 1996 e 2011. Os resultados da análise de regressão indicaram que, entre 1996 e 2011, os resultados dos reajustes salariais negociados foram influenciados (i) pela taxa de desemprego, (ii) pelo nível de emprego, (iii) pela variação no produto da indústria, (iv) pela razão entre os custos do trabalho e os custos totais de produção, (v) pela variação no salário mínimo oficial, e (vi) pela presença do Partido dos Trabalhadores no governo federal. Quanto aos resultados para os pisos salariais negociados, estes dependeram (i) da variação no produto da indústria, (ii) da inflação, e (iii) da variação no piso regional oficial. / Collective bargaining is a method of regulating the employer relationship, including the setting of nominal wages, whose study is deeply rooted in the tradition of Industrial Relations. In Brazil, collective bargaining has been carried out since 1994 under an economic context characterized by low inflation and no legal guarantee for wage adjustments. A stabilization plan called Plano Real after the new currency suppressed the formal machinery of wage indexation, with the exception of minimum wages, as well as brought about a period of lower inflation. The revocation of the wage indexation laws caused nominal wages increase to depend either on collective agreements or on employers´ unilateral decisions. This essay aims at analysing wage determination under collective bargaining in Brazil by taking account of the context of low inflation and no legal indexation of wages. The outcomes of wage bargaining related to 16 units in manufacturing in the state of Rio Grande do Sul between 1996 and 2011 provide the set for the empirical study. A regression analysis suggests that the bargaining of nominal wages adjustments has been affected by (i) the rate of unemployment, (ii) the level of employment in manufacturing, (iii) change in the manufacturing product, (iv) the ratio of labour costs to total costs of production, (v) change in the official minimum wage, and (vi) the presence of the Workers Party in office beginning in 2003. As for negotiated minimum wages, outcomes has been influenced by (i) change in the manufacturing product, (ii) the rate of inflation, and (iii) change in the official minimum wage.

Na tradição da teoria de relações de trabalho, os salários monetários são determinados em um sistema de relações de trabalho. Um dos modos de regulação do sistema de relações de trabalho é a negociação coletiva. O Plano Real inaugurou um novo paradigma para as negociações salariais no país quando acabou com os reajustes automáticos após 30 anos de indexação de preços e salários, o que significou uma nova dinâmica dos salários nominais, que passaram a depender, principalmente, dos resultados de negociações coletivas e de decisões unilaterais dos empregadores. O presente trabalho buscou analisar os salários monetários determinados por negociação coletiva em um cenário de baixa inflação e desindexação salarial. Foram analisados os determinantes dos resultados das negociações salariais em 16 unidades selecionadas da indústria do Rio Grande do Sul entre 1996 e 2011. Os resultados da análise de regressão indicaram que, entre 1996 e 2011, os resultados dos reajustes salariais negociados foram influenciados (i) pela taxa de desemprego, (ii) pelo nível de emprego, (iii) pela variação no produto da indústria, (iv) pela razão entre os custos do trabalho e os custos totais de produção, (v) pela variação no salário mínimo oficial, e (vi) pela presença do Partido dos Trabalhadores no governo federal. Quanto aos resultados para os pisos salariais negociados, estes dependeram (i) da variação no produto da indústria, (ii) da inflação, e (iii) da variação no piso regional oficial. / Collective bargaining is a method of regulating the employer relationship, including the setting of nominal wages, whose study is deeply rooted in the tradition of Industrial Relations. In Brazil, collective bargaining has been carried out since 1994 under an economic context characterized by low inflation and no legal guarantee for wage adjustments. A stabilization plan called Plano Real after the new currency suppressed the formal machinery of wage indexation, with the exception of minimum wages, as well as brought about a period of lower inflation. The revocation of the wage indexation laws caused nominal wages increase to depend either on collective agreements or on employers´ unilateral decisions. This essay aims at analysing wage determination under collective bargaining in Brazil by taking account of the context of low inflation and no legal indexation of wages. The outcomes of wage bargaining related to 16 units in manufacturing in the state of Rio Grande do Sul between 1996 and 2011 provide the set for the empirical study. A regression analysis suggests that the bargaining of nominal wages adjustments has been affected by (i) the rate of unemployment, (ii) the level of employment in manufacturing, (iii) change in the manufacturing product, (iv) the ratio of labour costs to total costs of production, (v) change in the official minimum wage, and (vi) the presence of the Workers Party in office beginning in 2003. As for negotiated minimum wages, outcomes has been influenced by (i) change in the manufacturing product, (ii) the rate of inflation, and (iii) change in the official minimum wage.

Cette thèse analyse les effets redistributifs du salaire minimum. Le premier chapitre montre que l’introduction du salaire minimum en 1967 dans un certain nombre de secteurs de l’économie qui en étaient exclus jusqu’alors peut expliquer plus de 20% de la réduction des inégalités entre Blancs et Noir-Américains dans les années 1960 et le début des années 1970 aux États-Unis – la seule période (depuis la seconde guerre mondiale) au cours de laquelle les inégalités raciales sur le marché du travail ont diminué. Cette réforme a eu un rôle aussi déterminant dans l’évolution des inégalités raciales que l’augmentation du nombre d’années d’études pour les Noir-Américains ou les lois contre la discrimination. Le deuxième chapitre de cette thèse est consacré à l’estimation de la transmission des augmentations de salaire minimum dans les prix des produits vendus dans les supermarchés américains.Une augmentation moyenne de 10% du salaire minimum se traduit par une augmentation de 0.2% dans les prix des supermarchés entre 2001 et 2012. Cette elasticité-prix est cohérente avec une tranmission de l’intégralité de l’augmentation des coûts du travail dans les prix de vente aux consommateurs. L’augmentation des prix des supermarchés réduit les gains de revenu nominaux liés à l’augmentation du salaire minimum entre de 3 à 12%, selon le niveau de revenu du ménage. Le troisième chapitre calibre un modèle du marché du travail qui permet de simuler les effets d’une augmentation du salaire minimum au niveau fédéral à $15 d’ici 2024 aux États-Unis. Il s’agit de comparer les niveaux d’emploi obtenus si la réforme est adoptée aux niveaux d’emploi obtenu si la réforme n’est pas adoptée, et ce, selon les valeurs d’une série d’élasticités bien identifiées. / This dissertation studies the redistributive effects of minimum wage policies. The first chapter provides the first causal evidence of how the minimum wage has affected the historical evolution of racial inequality in the United States. It shows that the extension of the federal minimum wage to new sectors of the economy in 1967 can explain more than 20% of the decline in the racial earnings gap observed during the Civil Rights Era -- the only period of time (post World-War II) during which racial inequality fell in the United States. This effect is as large as previously studied policies and economic factors, such as the improvement in schooling for African-Americans or federal anti-discrimination policies. The second chapter estimates the pass-through of minimum wage increases into prices of US grocery stores, using high-frequency scanner level data. A 10% minimum wage hike translates into a 0.2% increase in grocery prices between 2001 and 2012. This magnitude is consistent with a full pass-through of cost increases into consumer prices. Depending on household income, grocery price increases offset between 3 and 12% of the nominal income gains. The third chapter estimates a calibrated labor market model to analyze the likely effects of a $15 federal minimum wage by 2024. It compares employment numbers if the policy were adopted to employment numbers if the policy had not been adopted using a wide range of well-identified elasticities.

This thesis examines the effects of an increase of minimum wage level on unemployment, employment, disposable income and risk of poverty. We contribute to the existing literature by directly comparing results resulting from two similar datasets, one working with national, one with regional data. We use different sets of explanatory variables to see whether they affect the results of the estimation. On national level, our results confirm positive effect of minimum wages on employment of adults and on disposable income - but these findings were not confirmed on regional level. With respect to the regional perspective, the results are however subject to substantial uncertainty and are prone to substantial sensitivity to empirical specification. We attribute this uncertainty mainly to the quality of the data - small number of observations together with large heterogeneity. JEL Classification E02, E24, J08, J30 Keywords minimum wages, employment effect, disposable income, risk of poverty, panel data, NUTS 2 regions, comparison Author's e-mail majkovat@gmail.com Supervisor's e-mail jaromir.baxa@fsv.cuni.cz

Questa tesi include tre capitoli che si concentrano sulle politiche pubbliche e la tutela della salute. Il primo capitolo esamina l’effetto dell’incremento delle aliquote dell’IVA su alcune bevande sul loro consumo. I risultati dell’analisi empirica suggeriscono che l'aumento dell'aliquota IVA ha ridotto il consumo di alcolici, birra e bevande gassate, mentre l’effetto sul consumo di vino non è statisticamente significativo. Tuttavia, questo risultato generale cambia se si considerano sotto-gruppi di individui. Il secondo capitolo studia l’impatto del salario minimo sulla salute della popolazione cinese. Le stime indicano che i salari minimi reali sono negativamente e significativamente correlati con lo stato di salute della popolazione sia nel breve che nel lungo periodo, un risultato che potrebbe essere spiegato dalle condizioni di lavoro più stressanti conseguenti all’introduzione di un salario minimo più elevato. Infine, il terzo capitolo analizza gli effetti dei meccanismi di incentivazione sui comportamenti degli operatori sanitari del settore delle cure primarie nell’ambito della gestione dell'ipertensione. La nostra indagine empirica suggerisce che gli incentivi finanziari negativi potrebbero motivare gli operatori sanitari a migliorare la qualità dei servizi legati alla gestione dell'ipertensione, mentre né gli incentivi finanziari né diverse modalità di valutazione delle prestazioni sembrano influenzare la qualità dei servizi. / This dissertation includes three chapters which focus on the relationship between public policies and healthcare. The first chapter examines whether tax policy is effective in changing the unhealthy drinking behaviours of individuals. My findings suggest that the VAT rate increase is effective in reducing the consumption of spirits, beer and carbonated beverages, while it is not effective for wine. However, this general result change when looking at sub-groups of individuals. The second chapter studies how real minimum wages affect population health in China. I conclude that real minimum wages are negatively and significantly related to population health, a result which might be explained by the role of more stressful working conditions as a consequence of a higher minimum wage. Finally, the third chapter analyses the effects of incentive mechanisms on the behaviours of primary health workers and the subsequent effects on the quality of hypertension management. The empirical investigation suggests that negative financial incentives could motivate primary health workers and improve the quality of hypertension management. However, neither positive financial incentives nor different modes of performance evaluation are significantly related to the quality of hypertension management.

Income inequality is prevalent in both developed and developing countries. In all of these countries there are workers who are highly paid while others are given very low wages. The disgruntled low-paid workers in these countries usually force their governments to intervene in the labour market and introduce the redistributive policies like the minimum wage policy. Governments usually accede to these demands of low-paid workers because they do not want to invite political troubles. That led to an increase in the number of countries using minimum wage policy as redistributive mechanism in the late 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. Minimum wage policy is, however, a very controversial issue. Supporters of minimum wages regard the policy as ideal because it provides social protection to un-unionised and low-paid workers with little or no bargaining power. The opponents of the policy on the other hand argue that wages in the labour market should be determined by the forces of demand and supply. It is argued that wages that are artificially determined lead to the rationing of jobs and displacement of the very same low-paid workers that the policy is intended to protect, as employers are forced to replace unskilled workers with skilled workers and machines. South Africa’s agricultural sector workers were among some of the least paid workers in the country. Employers were able to exploit these workers because they were not protected by any labour legislation that workers in other sectors were afforded. Farm workers were only protected by common law. It was only in the 1990s that labour legislations like Basic Conditions of Employment Act, Labour Relations Act, Employment Equity Act, Extension of Security Act and Tenure Act and Skills Development Act were extended to the agricultural sector in an attempt to protect the working conditions of vulnerable workers. These acts as well failed to improve the working conditions of the agricultural sector workers and that prompted the Minister of Labour to instruct the Director-General of Labour to conduct the necessary investigations to see if it could be necessary to introduce minimum standard of employment in the sector, including minimum wages. That led to the adoption of Sectoral Determination 8 of 2003 which introduced sectoral minimum wage in the sector. The sectoral minimum wage which came into effect in 2003 was increased annually by the rate of inflation plus one per cent. It was only in 2013, after the Western Cape farm workers went on strike for higher wages, that the minimum wage was raised by 52 per cent. As argued by the opponents of minimum wages, job losses occurred among unskilled workers. The implementation of minimum wage policy in the agricultural sector was problematic, as the policy was not properly complied with due to several compliance concerns. Apart from there being insufficient inspectors to monitor and investigate cases of non-compliance, inspectors were under-trained and under-equipped. Fines imposed on offenders were too small, which further encouraged disregard for the policy. / Economics / M. Com. (Economics)