labor market. The co-existence of positive wage spans and unemployment is explained by wage rigidities that are … simultaneously caused by effciency-wage setting and minimum wages. The observed positive relation between wage spans and minimum … wages results from employment shifts from low-wage to high-wage sectors. Employment effects of immigration are opposite to …

In order to alleviate unemployment it is often recommended to reduce social security contributions (SSC) and to … compensate for the ensuing loss in revenues by a rise in the value-added tax (VAT). Assuming unemployment to be caused by … efficiency wages, it is shown that a balanced-budget shift from a payroll tax to a VAT will increase employment if the rise in …