Ce travail constitué de trois chapitres cherche à analyser l’impact du salaire minimum sur l’économie des départements français d’Amérique en se limitant aux effets sur la distribution des revenus et la croissance économique.Dans le premier chapitre, l’accent est mis sur les inégalités salariales telles qu’elles existent aux Antilles-Guyane, en comparaison avec la situation en France métropolitaine. Les inégalités de revenus restent fortes entre les catégories socioprofessionnelles dans les DFA. Le salaire moyen de l’ensemble des salariés de France métropolitaine est supérieur à celui des DFA.Le second chapitre présente tout d’abord les aspects historiques et réglementaires qui caractérisent le salaire minimum français et celui d’autres pays d’Europe. Le SMIC se classe en quatrième position parmi les salaires minimum les plus élevés d’Europe, et la France, le pays développé comptant la plus forte proportion de salariés au SMIC. Dans les Départements Français d’Amérique, les salariés payés au SMIC, bien plus nombreux en proportion qu’au niveau national, sont le plus souvent des femmes, des jeunes, des personnes peu qualifiées occupant un emploi à temps partiel dans les secteurs des services et du commerce. Il met également en évidence les effets du salaire minimum et de ses revalorisations sur la formation des salaires et le coût du travail. Les effets de diffusion du SMIC sont faibles et temporaires, variant de 0,1 à 0,2% tant en approche macroéconomique que microéconomique. Les hausses du SMIC entraînent une augmentation du coût du travail pour partie compensée par les allègements de charges octroyés aux entreprises.Le troisième chapitre contribue à la mise en lumière des interactions entre le salaire minimum, la croissance économique et la pauvreté dans la société Antillo-guyanaise. Il s’avère que le dynamisme de l’économie insulaire est loin d’avoir gommé tous les écarts de niveau de vie entre les DFA et la France métropolitaine, malgré l’alignement du salaire minimum et des prestations diverses. La simulation sur les données de l’enquête Budget de famille 2006 montre que la proportion de salariés au SMIC est faible dans le bas de l’échelle des revenus. Ces salariés sont répartis sur l’ensemble de l’échelle des niveaux de vie. Le SMIC occupe une place relativement importante dans le revenu disponible des ménages, y compris dans le haut de l’échelle des revenus.En conclusion, le niveau élevé du salaire minimum dans les départements français d’Amérique conduit au maintien d’un grand nombre de salariés payés au voisinage du SMIC. En dépit des allègements de cotisations sociales abaissant le coût du SMIC, les départements d’outre-mer demeurent des régions fortement touchées par le chômage et la pauvreté. De plus, les inégalités salariales se sont accrues entre les individus les plus modestes et les plus aisés de ces régions. La montée du chômage est un facteur aggravant de cet accroissement des inégalités. Si en effet, les résultats de notre étude permettent d’affirmer que le SMIC n’est pas le meilleur instrument pour lutter contre les inégalités salariales et la pauvreté, ils soulèvent en même temps la question d’un SMIC DOM en lien avec les conditions et capacités réelles des économies ultramarines. / This work consists of three parts seeking to analyze the impact of minimum wages on the French departments of America's economy by limiting the effects on the distribution of incomes and economic growth.In the first chapter, the focus is an overview of income inequality as they exist in the Antilles and Guiana, in comparison with the situation in France. Income inequalities remain high between occupational groups in the DFA. The average salary of all employees in mainland France is higher than the DFAThe second chapter first presents the historical and regulatory aspects that characterize the French minimum wage and that of other European countries. SMIC is the fourth highest minimum wage in Europe, and France developed country with the highest proportion of employees the minimum wage. In the French Departments of America, employees paid the minimum wage, many more in proportion than at national level, are most often women, youth, low-skilled people employed part-time in the service sectors and trade. It also highlights the impact of the minimum wage and its revaluation on the formation of wages and labor costs. SMIC diffusion effects are small and temporary, varying from 0.1 to 0.2% in both macroeconomic and microeconomic approach. The increases in the minimum wage lead to higher labor costs partly offset by expense reductions granted to companies. The third chapter contributes to highlighting the interaction between the minimum wage, economic growth and poverty in the Antillean-Guyanese society. It turns out that the dynamism of the island economy has all but erased all living differentials between overseas departments and metropolitan France, despite the alignment of the minimum wage and various benefits. The simulation on data from the 2006 survey of “Budget of families” shows that the proportion of employees with the minimum wage is low in the bottom of the income scale. These employees are spread over the entire scale of living. SMIC has an important place in household disposable income, including the top of the income scale.In conclusion, the high level of the minimum wage in the French departments of America led to the maintenance of a large number of employees paid near the minimum wage. Despite cuts in social security contributions lowering the cost of SMIC, departments remain areas with high unemployment and poverty. Moreover, wage inequality increased between the poorest and the wealthiest individuals in these areas. Rising unemployment is an aggravating factor of the increase in inequality. Since the results of our study make it possible to affirm SMIC is not the best tool to fight again wage inequalities and poverty, they also raise the question of a SMIC DOM linked with the real conditions and capacities of the overseas economies.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the cross-country relationship between income inequality and selected socioeconomic variables reflecting the level of economic development. The first chapter introduces some theoretical approaches to income distribution and poses problems regarding income inequalities across countries. The second chapter surveys cross-country studies of income inequalities conducted by previous researchers. The third chapter covers statistical methodology. Chapter four analyzes statistical results of multiple regression. The final chapter is intended for summary, conclusion, and recommendations.

A forma como os frutos do desenvolvimento econômico são distribuídos entre as pessoas está fortemente relacionado ao bem estar. Conforme visto na seção 2, o Brasil apresenta uma das piores distribuições de renda do planeta, sendo essa uma fonte constante de problemas sociais. A bibliografia levantada no trabalho mostra que a combinação entre mão-de-obra pouco qualificada com um sistema produtivo moderno tem sido o principal fator gerador dessas desigualdades. Através da utilização do sitema de matrizes de insumo-produto para o Brasil estimadas para 2002, combinadas com dados das pesquisas de orçamentos familiares - POF e da pesquisa nacional por amostra de domicílios - PNAD, o trabalho estimou os impactos que alterações na demanda dos setores de atividade econômica provocam sobre a distribuição de renda brasileira; o instrumental utilizado foi o modelo Leontief-Miyazawa. Os resultados encontrados mostram que alguns setores econômicos como, por exemplo, construção civil e vestuário, são redutores de desigualdades de renda. Por outro lado, setores como prestação de serviço a empresas e instituições financeiras agravam o quadro distributivo. Quando se avaliou o resultado nas cinco macro-regiões brasileiras, viu-se também que algumas dessas regiões, caso sejam estimuladas, podem desempenhar importante papel na redução das desigualdades brasileiras, destacando-se a Região Nordeste, onde esses efeitos possuem maior magnitude. Os setores que possuem maior potencial redutor de desigualdades são, respectivamente, serviços privados não mercantis e agricultura, ambos na região Nordeste. Por outro lado, as regiões Centro- Oeste e Sudeste, quando estimuladas, agravam o problema distributivo brasileiro na maioria de seus setores de atividade econômica. Dentro dessas regiões, os setores mais concentradores são as instituições financeiras, os serviços prestados às empresas (Região Sudeste) e Administração Pública da região Centro-Oeste. A adoção de investimentos em educação, conforme visto no trabalho, leva a uma melhora significativa na redução das desigualdades, no entanto, esse tipo de política tem um longo período de maturação. Dada a urgência do problema da distribuição de renda brasileira, a combinação de políticas compensatórias do tipo "Bolsa-Família", que possuem efeito de curto prazo, associadas a políticas que incentivem setores chaves da economia em determinadas regiões, podem ter um efeito redutor de desigualdade, enquanto a política educacional ainda não conseguir atingir seus objetivos. / The way that the results of the development are distributed among the people is strongly related to their welfare. As seen in section 2, Brazil shows one of the worst income distribution in the world, which generates a constant source of social problems. The references used in this work show that the combination of a low qualified labor force with a modern productive sector has been one of the main sources of these inequalities. Using an input-output system for the Brazilian economy, estimated for 2002, combined with data from the surveys on household budgets - POF and household - PNAD, this work estimated the impacts that changes in the final demand of the sectors will have in the Brazilian income distribution, the methodology used is based on the Leonfief- Miyazawa model. The results show that some of the economic sectors contribute to the reduction in the income inequalities, like civil construction and apparel. On the other end, sectors like services rendered to the enterprises and financial institutions contribute to the worsening of the income distribution. The results for the five Brazilian macro regions show that if some of the regions are stimulated, this could have a important role in the reduction of the Brazilian inequalities, the Northeast region stands out in this case. The sectors that have the great potential in reducing inequalities are private services and agriculture, both in the Northeast region. On the other hand, the Central West and Southeast regions, on the majority of their sectors, when stimulated, increase the distributive problem. Inside these regions, the sectors that concentrate the most are financial institutions and services rendered to the firms (Southeast), and public administration (Central West). The adoption of investment in education, as saw in the work, leads to a significant reduction in the inequalities; however, this kind of policy has a long time of maturation. Given the urgency of the income distribution in the Brazilian economy, the combination of compensatory policies of the type "Household Subsidies", that have a short time effect, associated with policies of incentive to key sectors in the economy, in selected regions, could have a effect to reduce inequality, while the educational policy has not yet reached its goals.

A forma como os frutos do desenvolvimento econômico são distribuídos entre as pessoas está fortemente relacionado ao bem estar. Conforme visto na seção 2, o Brasil apresenta uma das piores distribuições de renda do planeta, sendo essa uma fonte constante de problemas sociais. A bibliografia levantada no trabalho mostra que a combinação entre mão-de-obra pouco qualificada com um sistema produtivo moderno tem sido o principal fator gerador dessas desigualdades. Através da utilização do sitema de matrizes de insumo-produto para o Brasil estimadas para 2002, combinadas com dados das pesquisas de orçamentos familiares - POF e da pesquisa nacional por amostra de domicílios - PNAD, o trabalho estimou os impactos que alterações na demanda dos setores de atividade econômica provocam sobre a distribuição de renda brasileira; o instrumental utilizado foi o modelo Leontief-Miyazawa. Os resultados encontrados mostram que alguns setores econômicos como, por exemplo, construção civil e vestuário, são redutores de desigualdades de renda. Por outro lado, setores como prestação de serviço a empresas e instituições financeiras agravam o quadro distributivo. Quando se avaliou o resultado nas cinco macro-regiões brasileiras, viu-se também que algumas dessas regiões, caso sejam estimuladas, podem desempenhar importante papel na redução das desigualdades brasileiras, destacando-se a Região Nordeste, onde esses efeitos possuem maior magnitude. Os setores que possuem maior potencial redutor de desigualdades são, respectivamente, serviços privados não mercantis e agricultura, ambos na região Nordeste. Por outro lado, as regiões Centro- Oeste e Sudeste, quando estimuladas, agravam o problema distributivo brasileiro na maioria de seus setores de atividade econômica. Dentro dessas regiões, os setores mais concentradores são as instituições financeiras, os serviços prestados às empresas (Região Sudeste) e Administração Pública da região Centro-Oeste. A adoção de investimentos em educação, conforme visto no trabalho, leva a uma melhora significativa na redução das desigualdades, no entanto, esse tipo de política tem um longo período de maturação. Dada a urgência do problema da distribuição de renda brasileira, a combinação de políticas compensatórias do tipo "Bolsa-Família", que possuem efeito de curto prazo, associadas a políticas que incentivem setores chaves da economia em determinadas regiões, podem ter um efeito redutor de desigualdade, enquanto a política educacional ainda não conseguir atingir seus objetivos. / The way that the results of the development are distributed among the people is strongly related to their welfare. As seen in section 2, Brazil shows one of the worst income distribution in the world, which generates a constant source of social problems. The references used in this work show that the combination of a low qualified labor force with a modern productive sector has been one of the main sources of these inequalities. Using an input-output system for the Brazilian economy, estimated for 2002, combined with data from the surveys on household budgets - POF and household - PNAD, this work estimated the impacts that changes in the final demand of the sectors will have in the Brazilian income distribution, the methodology used is based on the Leonfief- Miyazawa model. The results show that some of the economic sectors contribute to the reduction in the income inequalities, like civil construction and apparel. On the other end, sectors like services rendered to the enterprises and financial institutions contribute to the worsening of the income distribution. The results for the five Brazilian macro regions show that if some of the regions are stimulated, this could have a important role in the reduction of the Brazilian inequalities, the Northeast region stands out in this case. The sectors that have the great potential in reducing inequalities are private services and agriculture, both in the Northeast region. On the other hand, the Central West and Southeast regions, on the majority of their sectors, when stimulated, increase the distributive problem. Inside these regions, the sectors that concentrate the most are financial institutions and services rendered to the firms (Southeast), and public administration (Central West). The adoption of investment in education, as saw in the work, leads to a significant reduction in the inequalities; however, this kind of policy has a long time of maturation. Given the urgency of the income distribution in the Brazilian economy, the combination of compensatory policies of the type "Household Subsidies", that have a short time effect, associated with policies of incentive to key sectors in the economy, in selected regions, could have a effect to reduce inequality, while the educational policy has not yet reached its goals.

Cette thèse a un double objectif. En premier lieu, elle présente les méthodes ayant permis de construire deux bases de données historiques relatives aux départements français. La première met à disposition les tables de mortalité départementales sur la période 1901-2014. La seconde permet de disposer des distributions départementales de revenu sur la période 1960-2014. En second lieu, cette thèse présente les travaux issus de l'utilisation conjointe de ces deux bases de données et d'autres statistiques: ils concernent aussi bien les dynamiques longues des inégalités spatiales que certains évènements historiques. Ainsi, l'analyse de la répartition spatiale de la population depuis le milieu du 19eme siècle permet de comprendre à la fois la dynamique induite par l'exode rural, mais aussi par les nouvelles tendances des migrations d'aujourd'hui, différentes selon les âges. L'analyse des inégalités de mortalité depuis 200 ans montre quant à elle que les inégalités ont largement baissé depuis la fin du 19ème siècle, alors que la géographie de la surmortalité a profondément changé. Enfin, l'analyse des inégalités spatiales de revenus révèle une baisse continue des inégalités depuis les années 1920, baisse qui n'intervient que depuis 1950 si l'on introduit les inégalités de mortalité dans un indicateur synthétique de bien-être. La thèse se conclut par l'analyse des migrations internes durant la seconde guerre mondiale : leur caractère à la fois massif et à destination de la zone libre témoigne aussi bien de l'impact qu'a eu cet évènement sur la démographie française que de la formidable quête de la liberté des français de l'époque, peu entravée par la ligne de démarcation. / This thesis has a dual purpose. First, it presents the methods used to build two new historical databases relating to departments. The first database provides the departmental lifetables for the period 1901-20-14. The second database provides the departmental distributions of income over the period 1960-2014. Second, this thesis presents the first work resulting from the joint use of these two databases and other statistics: they concern both the dynamics of spatial inequalities and some specific historical events. Thus, the analysis of the spatial distribution of the population since the middle of the 19th century allows to understand the dynamics induced by the rural exodus, but also by the new trends of today's migrations. The analysis of mortality inequalities over the last 200 years shows that inequalities have fallen dramatically since the end of the 19th century, while the geography of excess mortality has changed. Finally, the analysis of spatial income inequalities reveals a continuous decline since the 1920s. This decline occurred only since 1950 spatial inequalities are observed using a synthetic indicator of welfare, combining both mortality inequalities and income inequalities. The thesis ends with the analysis of internal migrations during the Second World War: these migrations were massive, and clearly oriented towards the free zone. These results testify both to the impact of this event on French demography, and to the quest for freedom of the French of that time, little hampered by the demarcation line.

Income inequalities have become a matter of major concern following reports that the working class and lower middle class of developed economies have income levels that are falling behind. Few studies have been conducted on the regional level even though this perspective might better capture the development of income inequalities, since national averages might hide local differences. This study uses panel data for 286 Swedish municipalities in between 1991-2017 and fixed effect regressions, to examine if the theory of a skill-biased technological change could be used to explain resent developments. We find an labor income divergence for Swedish municipalities within the studied time period. The share of high skilled workers is found to be a good predictor of the growth in regional labor income inequalities, while an ageing population of the regions falling behind counteracts the growth of inequality, possibly leading to an underestimation of the size of regional labor income divergence. These results are in support of a skill-biased technological change at work and a job polarization transforming regional labor markets and regional societies. We conclude that adopting a regional perspective in the analysis and development of future economic growth policies is necessary to ensure long term economic growth, equality of opportunity and social cohesion.

Cette thèse a été réalisée en cotutelle Université de Montréal (UdeM) - Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB). L'auteur a bénéficié de bourses doctorales provenant du Fonds national de la recherche scientifique (FNRS-Belgique), du Fonds de recherche du Québec-Société culture (FRQSC), et du Centre de recherche Léa-Roback sur les inégalités de santé de Montréal. / Les politiques de soutien au revenu des ménages se déclinent sous formes de mesures variées mises en place dans le cadre du système de protection sociale. Ces politiques influencent considérablement le revenu et les conditions de vie des ménages les plus vulnérables. Elles constituent un levier majeur pour réduire la pauvreté et les inégalités de revenu entre ménages. De ce fait, elles contribuent à améliorer la santé des populations et à réduire les inégalités sociales de santé (ISS) dès la naissance. L’évaluation de l’impact des politiques sociales sur les ISS dans différents contextes constitue une tâche complexe, du fait notamment de la difficulté, voire l’impossibilité, de mettre en place des études randomisées à grande échelle. Les variations des politiques sociales selon les pays constituent des opportunités pour mener des études comparatives sur base d’expériences naturelles. En partant d’un constat sur les limites des études comparatives habituelles, nous avons proposé une démarche de recherche visant à mieux étudier les spécificités des contextes afin d’expliquer les mécanismes par lesquels la combinaison des politiques de soutien au revenu influence la pauvreté des ménages et contribue aux ISS à la naissance à Bruxelles et à Montréal. Ce protocole de recherche a fait l’objet d’un 1er article. Le cœur de la thèse comprend trois parties. La première partie porte sur la comparaison des politiques d’aide sociale et d’allocations familiales en Belgique et au Québec et analyse les impacts sur l’intensité de la pauvreté des ménages à l’aide sociale dans les deux contextes. L’analyse se base sur la méthode des familles-types. Cette méthode consiste à calculer et comparer le revenu disponible de différents types de ménages. L’intensité de la pauvreté des ménages a été estimée selon le nombre d’enfants et la situation de couple. Pour chaque type de ménage, elle correspond à la différence relative entre le revenu disponible du ménage et le seuil de pauvreté relative. Les résultats montrent une intensité de la pauvreté plus marquée au Québec qu’en Belgique. Dans chaque contexte, on constate également que l’intensité de la pauvreté des ménages varie considérablement selon le nombre d’enfants et la situation de couple. Ce travail a fait l’objet d’un 2ème article. La deuxième partie porte sur la description des inégalités de santé à la naissance à Bruxelles et à Montréal. Les hypothèses de travail découlent des résultats obtenus à l’étape précédente. Deux études de cas ont été réalisées et analysées dans une perspective comparative. Les bases de données utilisées proviennent du couplage de données administratives issues des registres de naissance et des données de sécurité sociale. Les résultats ont donné lieu aux 3ème et 4ème articles. Le 3ème article concerne la population générale. Dans chaque région, des modèles de régression logistique ont été élaborés afin d’étudier l’association entre les issues défavorables de la grossesse (faible poids à la naissance, prématurité) et le statut socioéconomique (éducation de la mère et revenu). L’ampleur des inégalités de santé est plus marquée à Montréal qu’à Bruxelles et celles-ci diffèrent également selon l’origine de la mère. Le 4ème article porte spécifiquement sur la population bénéficiaire de l’aide sociale. Il compare l’association entre le faible poids à la naissance et la composition de ménage dans chaque région. On constate que les inégalités face au FPN varient selon le nombre d’enfants et la situation de couple entre les deux contextes, dans le même sens que les différences observées au niveau de la pauvreté. La troisième partie explore davantage les différences constatées à l'étape précédente selon l’immigration. Dans chaque région, elle compare l’impact du SES sur la santé périnatale chez différents groupes d’immigrés et les chez les mères nées en Belgique ou au Canada. Les résultats ont donné lieu aux 5ème et 6ème article de la thèse. L’analyse souligne l’importance de tenir compte des enjeux liés à l’immigration pour mieux expliquer la contribution des politiques de soutien au revenu aux ISS à la naissance. Cette thèse constitue une contribution unique. Dans deux régions où les taux de pauvreté et les prévalences des issues de la grossesse sont comparables dans la population générale, on constate des différences notables quant aux inégalités de santé à la naissance. Les politiques de soutien au revenu dans les deux contextes contribuent à expliquer ces différences. L’analyse démontre la nécessité de remédier aux insuffisances de ces politiques dans les deux contextes. Finalement, elle souligne les défis de la réduction de la pauvreté. Ces défis touchent à différents domaines, notamment la conciliation travail-famille, le marché du travail, l’immigration et les inégalités économiques. Mots-clés : Pauvreté, Inégalités sociales de santé, Politiques sociales, Etat-Providence, Evaluation d’impact en santé, Expériences naturelles, Inégalités de revenu, Faible poids à la naissance, Santé périnatale, Politiques de soutien au revenu. / Income support policies significantly influence the income and living conditions of the most vulnerable households. They constitute a major lever for reducing poverty and income inequalities between households. As a result, they contribute to improving the health of populations and reducing social inequalities in health (SIH) starting from birth. Assessing the impact of social policies on SIH in different contexts is a complex task, due in particular to the difficulty, if not impossibility, of setting up large-scale randomised studies. Varying social policies in different countries provide opportunities for comparative studies on the issue, based on natural experiments. Starting from an observation on the limitations of the usual comparative studies, we have proposed a research approach aiming to better study the specificities of contexts, which would allow us to explain the mechanisms by which the combination of income support policies influences household poverty and contributes to SIH at birth in Brussels and Montreal. This research protocol was the subject of a first article. This core of this thesis consists of three parts. The first deals with the comparison of welfare and family allowance policies in Belgium and Quebec and analyses their impact on the intensity of poverty of welfare households in both contexts. The analysis is based on the model family method, which consists of calculating and comparing the disposable income of different types of households. The intensity of household poverty was estimated according to the number of children and marital status. For each household type, the intensity of poverty corresponds to the relative difference between the household's disposable income and the relative poverty threshold. The results show a higher intensity of poverty in Quebec than in Belgium. It is also found that, in each context, the intensity of household poverty varies considerably depending on the number of children and marital status. This work was the subject of a second article. The second part of this thesis focuses on the description of health inequalities at birth in Brussels and Montreal. The working hypotheses are derived from the results obtained in the previous stage. Two case studies were carried out and analysed in a comparative perspective. The databases used come from a combination of administrative data from birth records and social security data. The results led to the third and fourth articles. The third article concerns itself with the general population. Logistic regression models were developed for each region to study the association between adverse pregnancy outcomes (low birth weight, prematurity) and socioeconomic status (mother's education and income levels). The magnitude of health inequalities is greater in Montreal than in Brussels and also differs according to the mother's origin. The fourth article focuses specifically on welfare recipients. It compares the association between low birth weight and household composition in each region. We can see that inequalities in LBW vary according to the number of children and marital status in both contexts, much like the differences observed in terms of poverty. The third part further explores the differences observed in the previous stage according to immigration. It compares the impact of SES on perinatal health among different immigrant groups and among mothers born in Belgium or Canada. The results led to the fifth and sixth papers of the thesis. The analysis underlines the importance of taking the specific issues linked to immigration into account to better explain the role that income support policies play in SIH at birth. This thesis is a unique contribution. There are notable differences in health inequalities at birth between two regions with similar poverty rates and levels of prevalence of unfavourable pregnancy outcomes among the general population. The impact of income support policies in Belgium and Quebec on the intensity of household poverty helps explain these differences. Our analysis demonstrates the need for public policies that address the inadequacy of the current income support measures in both regions. Lastly, it emphasises that the causes of poverty are interdependent and touch on various issues, including work-family balance, job insecurity, immigration and economic inequalities. Keywords: Poverty, Social inequalities in health, Social policies, Welfare state, Health impact assessment, Natural experiments, Income inequalities, Low birth weight, Perinatal health, Income support policies.