The impact of the regulation of low wages on inequality and labour-market adjustment: a comparative analysis
比较了法国、比利时、荷兰等有国家最低工资的国家与德国、意大利、丹麦等通过集体谈判决定低工资的国家，发现这些国家的工资和收入不平等及贫困程度低于英美，且劳动力市场调整模式差异大，难以将高失业率归因于低工资监管机制。
In all continental European countries there exist non-market mechanisms that determine or 'regulate' wage rates for the low-paid. We consider the experience of three countries that have national minimum wages France, Belgium, and the Netherlands - and three where low wage rates are determined through widespread collective bargaining - Germany, Italy, and Denmark. We find that overall there is less inequality (both wage and income) and less poverty than in the United Kingdom and the United States, where low wages are less regulated. Furthermore, patterns of labour-market adjustment - employment, unemployment, and gross job flows - vary greatly, suggesting that there is no one-to-one mapping between the presence of mechanisms to regulate low wages and labour-market performance. Furthermore, wage shares have been falling since the early 1980s. It is therefore difficult to attribute high and persistent rates of unemployment found in certain countries to the existence of mechanisms to 'regulate' low wages.