Christian Ragacs develops contributions to the theory of minimum wages, while taking rationing and spill-over effects on markets other than the labour market into account. Following an introduction into the theory of minimum wages and a discussion of methodological problems, four new theoretical models are developed; two of them comparative static in nature and two models of endogenous growth. The results are contradictory - partly supporting the 'textbook' theory and partly yielding unorthodox results, such as no change in the steady state rates of growth and employment.

Autorentext

CHRISTIAN RAGACS is Assistant Professor at the Vienna University of Economic and Business Administration. He teaches courses on economic policy, micro- and macroeconomics and economic growth. He received the Theodor-Körner prize for his contribution to growth policy in 1997. His fields of research are economic growth and labour economics.

Inhalt

Introduction PART I: ON THEORY AND METHODOLOGY An Inquiry into the Theory of Minimum Wages Minimum Wages and "General Equilibrium": Methodological Problems PART II: MINIMUM WAGES AND COMPARATIVE STATICS Supporting the Partial Equilibrium Results Minimum Wages, Unemployment and the Creation of Human Capital PART III: MINIMUM WAGES AND ECONOMIC GROWTH Minimum Wages, Human Capital and Growth Minimum Wages, Unemployment and Growth Conclusions