Wage dispersion within firms has increased, whilst segregation of workers according to their schooling level has also increased, as some firms "specialise" in workers with a high level of education and other "specialise" in workers with low level of education. This study analyses the interaction...

This paper documents the income distribution changes experienced by Argentina during the last decades. Inequality substantially increased, and despite economic growth during some periods, poverty also went significantly up. Two types of episodes have shaped Argentina's income distribution: deep...

This paper documents patterns and recent developments on income inequality in Latin America (LA). New comparative international evidence confirms that LA is a region of high inequality, although maybe not the highest in the world. Income inequality has fallen in the 2000s, suggesting a turning...

This paper uses a dynamic macro-micro framework to evaluate the potential distributional effects of the expansion of the Panama Canal. The results show that large macroeconomic effects are only likely during the operations phase (2014 and onwards), and income gains are likely to be concentrated...

The labour market in Russia is very flexible. Firms adjust to economic shocks through wage cuts, working hour reductions and minimisation of non-wage labour costs. Workers react by changing jobs. This results in a high and stable overall employment rate, but also high wage inequality,...

This book provides a very useful introduction to methodologies for measuring inequality, a comprehensive overview of changes in inequality which have occurred in the United States, and an informative discussion of a variety of policy-related issues.

The paper examines the relative effectiveness of two policy proposals in reducing unemployment and working poverty: unemployment vouchers and low-wage subsidies. The unemployment vouchers are targeted exclusively at the unemployed (especially the long-term unemployed) and are provided only for a...

L’objectif de ce document est de donner un aperçu des effets théoriques attendus d’une baisse de la durée du travail sur le chômage et les inégalités. Il s’appuie sur une littérature qui va des modèles statiques de demandes de travail à un facteur — les services du travail —...

This paper studies the impact of an increase in the enforcement of labor regulations on unemployment and inequality, using city level data from Brazil. We find that stricter enforcement (affecting the payment of mandated benefits to formal workers) leads to: higher unemployment, less income...

This paper documents the high level of job security protection in Latin American labor markets and analyzes its impact on employment. We show that job security policies have substantial impact on the level and the distribution of employment in Latin America. They reduce employment and promote...