Frank Walsh - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Frank Walsh

HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2022

Many informal firms in developing countries would not be viable if they were to comply with the m... more Many informal firms in developing countries would not be viable if they were to comply with the minimum wage law. This means the authorities have an incentive to turn a blind eye to nonenforcement in a substantial share of firms. We also survey enforcement mechanisms for the minimum wage across developing countries and find that worker complaints are an important element in determining whether firms will be inspected for non-compliance or not. We develop a theoretical monopsony model which rationalises the stylised facts we observe. For a given minimum wage, the government can choose a level of enforcement and penalties for non-compliance such that employment will not fall for any optimising firm, irrespective of their productivity. Low productivity firm's optimal choice of employment and wage will be unaffected by the introduction of the minimum wage. High productivity firms comply so that wage and employment effects are non-negative for these firms.

Oxford Economic Papers, 2012

Journal of Macroeconomics, 2005

In a model with rigid nominal wages, full information and competitive product markets, I show tha... more In a model with rigid nominal wages, full information and competitive product markets, I show that when an effort augmented production function is incorporated into an analysis of supply and demand shocks, the outcomes are in line with traditional Keynesian analysis for a wide range of parameter values. Monetary shocks can increase output and employment.

Journal of Labor Economics, 1999

The Economic Journal, 1999

Bhaskar and To (1999) develop a model of monopsonistic competition and solve explicitly for equil... more Bhaskar and To (1999) develop a model of monopsonistic competition and solve explicitly for equilibrium. While a minimum wage set just above the unconstrained optimum leads firms to increase employment it also causes firm exit as profits fall. In this note I show that the employment and welfare effects of the minimum wage which Bhaskar and To had thought to be ambiguous when firm exit was accounted for are in fact unambiguously positive.

This paper investigates how Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) affects pre-displacement wages in i... more This paper investigates how Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) affects pre-displacement wages in imperfectly competitive labour markets, using both an efficiency wage and a bargaining model. Our results reveal that under both frameworks employment subsidies for displaced workers raise pre-displacement wages. By contrast, subsidies to unemployed displaced workers unequivocally raise pre-displacement wages only in the bargaining model.

We develop a model where formal sector firms pay tax and informal ones do not, but informal firms... more We develop a model where formal sector firms pay tax and informal ones do not, but informal firms risk incurring the penalty associated with non-compliance. Workers may enter selfemployment or search for jobs as employees. Workers with higher managerial skills will run larger firms while workers with lower will manage smaller firms and will be in self-employment only when they cannot find a salary job. For these workers self-employment is a secondary/informal form of employment. The Burdett and Mortensen (1998) equilibrium search model turns out to be a special case that we amend by incorporating taxes and a penalty for non-payment of taxes. Our model is also consistent with some of the empirical literature in that the informal wage penalty does appear to be limited to low wage/skill workers while firm size is an important determinant of the employee formal sector premium. We test theoretical predictions using empirical evidence from Mexico and find that firm size wage effects for employees and self-employed workers are broadly consistent with the model.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2008

We examine the impact of hurricane strikes on the construction industry in US counties. To this e... more We examine the impact of hurricane strikes on the construction industry in US counties. To this end we use a measure of hurricane destruction derived from a wind field model and historical hurricane track data and employ this within a dynamic labour demand framework. Our results show that destruction due to hurricanes causes on average an increase in county level employment in construction of a little over 25 per cent.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2002

In monopsony models of the labour market either a minimum wage or an employment subsidy financed ... more In monopsony models of the labour market either a minimum wage or an employment subsidy financed by a lump sum tax on profits can achieve the efficient level of employment and output. Incorporating working conditions into a monopsony model where higher wages raise firm labour supply, but less attractive working conditions reduce it, changes these policy implications. Specifically, a minimum wage policy could, in contrast to an employment subsidy, cause working conditions to deteriorate and welfare to fall. Empirical evidence from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago shows that a minimum wage may indeed cause working conditions to worsen.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2002

This Discussion Paper is issued within the framework of IZA's research area Welfare State and Lab... more This Discussion Paper is issued within the framework of IZA's research area Welfare State and Labor Market. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and not those of the institute. Research disseminated by IZA may include views on policy, but the institute itself takes no institutional policy positions. The Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn is a local and virtual international research center and a place of communication between science, politics and business. IZA is an independent, nonprofit limited liability company (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung) supported by the Deutsche Post AG. The center is associated with the University of Bonn and offers a stimulating research environment through its research networks, research support, and visitors and doctoral programs. IZA engages in (i) original and internationally competitive research in all fields of labor economics, (ii) development of policy concepts, and (iii) dissemination of research results and concepts to the interested public. The current research program deals with (1) mobility and flexibility of labor, (2) internationalization of labor markets, (3) welfare state and labor market, (4) labor markets in transition countries, (5) the future of labor, (6) evaluation of labor market policies and projects and (7) general labor economics. IZA Discussion Papers often represent preliminary work and are circulated to encourage discussion. Citation of such a paper should account for its provisional character. A revised version may be available on the IZA website (www.iza.org) or directly from the author.

Economic Development and Cultural Change, 2017

1 See Lucas (1997) or Mendola (2012) for reviews of the literature on internal migration in devel... more 1 See Lucas (1997) or Mendola (2012) for reviews of the literature on internal migration in developing countries or De Brauw, Mueller, and Lee (2014) for a review of the literature on urban-rural migration in sub-Saharan Africa. 2 We focus on males because employment rates are much higher than for females and because estimation for the latter is further complicated by needing to model the labor supply decision.

Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch ge... more Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your personal and scholarly purposes. You are not to copy documents for public or commercial purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence.

Using micro data from the Quarterly National Household Survey we look at trends in Irish union me... more Using micro data from the Quarterly National Household Survey we look at trends in Irish union membership from 2001-2006. There was a steep decline in union density. Decomposition analysis suggests that most of the decline is associated with a decline in the underlying probability of becoming a member for different groups of workers rather than a change in composition.

If employers believe females are more likely to separate from a job than males, efficient cost sh... more If employers believe females are more likely to separate from a job than males, efficient cost sharing of on-the-job-training implies that females will have higher returns to tenure. Becker and Lindsay (1994) argue that this is true empirically. (1994). Updating the analysis we find that that there is no longer a difference in the probability of leaving jobs or in returns to tenure by gender. Differences in contracts to finance on the job training can no longer explain any of the "discrimination" component in the gender wage gap.

If employers believe females are more likel y to separate from a job than males, efficient cost s... more If employers believe females are more likel y to separate from a job than males, efficient cost sharing of on-the-job-tr aining implies that females will have higher returns to tenure. Becker and Lindsay (1994) argue that this is true empirically. (1994). Updating the analysis we find that that there is no longer a difference in the probability of leaving jobs or in returns to tenure by gender. Differences in contracts to finance on the job training can no longer explain any of the "discrimination" component in the gender wage gap.

Labour Economics, 2008

This paper analyses the impact of government grants on labour demand using plant level data for m... more This paper analyses the impact of government grants on labour demand using plant level data for manufacturing industry in Ireland. Our data consists of a large sample of plants and their complete grant history. We provide evidence that additional employment is created over and above the level that would have prevailed in the absence of grant payments. We also find differences in the employment response to subsidies between domestic and foreign-owned plants, with the former creating more additional jobs per euro of grant payment. Simple cost-benefit analysis reveals that a large part of the costs of grants appears to be recouped in additional wage streams under reasonable assumptions.

HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2022

Many informal firms in developing countries would not be viable if they were to comply with the m... more Many informal firms in developing countries would not be viable if they were to comply with the minimum wage law. This means the authorities have an incentive to turn a blind eye to nonenforcement in a substantial share of firms. We also survey enforcement mechanisms for the minimum wage across developing countries and find that worker complaints are an important element in determining whether firms will be inspected for non-compliance or not. We develop a theoretical monopsony model which rationalises the stylised facts we observe. For a given minimum wage, the government can choose a level of enforcement and penalties for non-compliance such that employment will not fall for any optimising firm, irrespective of their productivity. Low productivity firm's optimal choice of employment and wage will be unaffected by the introduction of the minimum wage. High productivity firms comply so that wage and employment effects are non-negative for these firms.

Oxford Economic Papers, 2012

Journal of Macroeconomics, 2005

In a model with rigid nominal wages, full information and competitive product markets, I show tha... more In a model with rigid nominal wages, full information and competitive product markets, I show that when an effort augmented production function is incorporated into an analysis of supply and demand shocks, the outcomes are in line with traditional Keynesian analysis for a wide range of parameter values. Monetary shocks can increase output and employment.

Journal of Labor Economics, 1999

The Economic Journal, 1999

Bhaskar and To (1999) develop a model of monopsonistic competition and solve explicitly for equil... more Bhaskar and To (1999) develop a model of monopsonistic competition and solve explicitly for equilibrium. While a minimum wage set just above the unconstrained optimum leads firms to increase employment it also causes firm exit as profits fall. In this note I show that the employment and welfare effects of the minimum wage which Bhaskar and To had thought to be ambiguous when firm exit was accounted for are in fact unambiguously positive.

This paper investigates how Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) affects pre-displacement wages in i... more This paper investigates how Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) affects pre-displacement wages in imperfectly competitive labour markets, using both an efficiency wage and a bargaining model. Our results reveal that under both frameworks employment subsidies for displaced workers raise pre-displacement wages. By contrast, subsidies to unemployed displaced workers unequivocally raise pre-displacement wages only in the bargaining model.

We develop a model where formal sector firms pay tax and informal ones do not, but informal firms... more We develop a model where formal sector firms pay tax and informal ones do not, but informal firms risk incurring the penalty associated with non-compliance. Workers may enter selfemployment or search for jobs as employees. Workers with higher managerial skills will run larger firms while workers with lower will manage smaller firms and will be in self-employment only when they cannot find a salary job. For these workers self-employment is a secondary/informal form of employment. The Burdett and Mortensen (1998) equilibrium search model turns out to be a special case that we amend by incorporating taxes and a penalty for non-payment of taxes. Our model is also consistent with some of the empirical literature in that the informal wage penalty does appear to be limited to low wage/skill workers while firm size is an important determinant of the employee formal sector premium. We test theoretical predictions using empirical evidence from Mexico and find that firm size wage effects for employees and self-employed workers are broadly consistent with the model.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2008

We examine the impact of hurricane strikes on the construction industry in US counties. To this e... more We examine the impact of hurricane strikes on the construction industry in US counties. To this end we use a measure of hurricane destruction derived from a wind field model and historical hurricane track data and employ this within a dynamic labour demand framework. Our results show that destruction due to hurricanes causes on average an increase in county level employment in construction of a little over 25 per cent.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2002

In monopsony models of the labour market either a minimum wage or an employment subsidy financed ... more In monopsony models of the labour market either a minimum wage or an employment subsidy financed by a lump sum tax on profits can achieve the efficient level of employment and output. Incorporating working conditions into a monopsony model where higher wages raise firm labour supply, but less attractive working conditions reduce it, changes these policy implications. Specifically, a minimum wage policy could, in contrast to an employment subsidy, cause working conditions to deteriorate and welfare to fall. Empirical evidence from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago shows that a minimum wage may indeed cause working conditions to worsen.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2002

This Discussion Paper is issued within the framework of IZA's research area Welfare State and Lab... more This Discussion Paper is issued within the framework of IZA's research area Welfare State and Labor Market. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and not those of the institute. Research disseminated by IZA may include views on policy, but the institute itself takes no institutional policy positions. The Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn is a local and virtual international research center and a place of communication between science, politics and business. IZA is an independent, nonprofit limited liability company (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung) supported by the Deutsche Post AG. The center is associated with the University of Bonn and offers a stimulating research environment through its research networks, research support, and visitors and doctoral programs. IZA engages in (i) original and internationally competitive research in all fields of labor economics, (ii) development of policy concepts, and (iii) dissemination of research results and concepts to the interested public. The current research program deals with (1) mobility and flexibility of labor, (2) internationalization of labor markets, (3) welfare state and labor market, (4) labor markets in transition countries, (5) the future of labor, (6) evaluation of labor market policies and projects and (7) general labor economics. IZA Discussion Papers often represent preliminary work and are circulated to encourage discussion. Citation of such a paper should account for its provisional character. A revised version may be available on the IZA website (www.iza.org) or directly from the author.

Economic Development and Cultural Change, 2017

1 See Lucas (1997) or Mendola (2012) for reviews of the literature on internal migration in devel... more 1 See Lucas (1997) or Mendola (2012) for reviews of the literature on internal migration in developing countries or De Brauw, Mueller, and Lee (2014) for a review of the literature on urban-rural migration in sub-Saharan Africa. 2 We focus on males because employment rates are much higher than for females and because estimation for the latter is further complicated by needing to model the labor supply decision.

Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch ge... more Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your personal and scholarly purposes. You are not to copy documents for public or commercial purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence.

Using micro data from the Quarterly National Household Survey we look at trends in Irish union me... more Using micro data from the Quarterly National Household Survey we look at trends in Irish union membership from 2001-2006. There was a steep decline in union density. Decomposition analysis suggests that most of the decline is associated with a decline in the underlying probability of becoming a member for different groups of workers rather than a change in composition.

If employers believe females are more likely to separate from a job than males, efficient cost sh... more If employers believe females are more likely to separate from a job than males, efficient cost sharing of on-the-job-training implies that females will have higher returns to tenure. Becker and Lindsay (1994) argue that this is true empirically. (1994). Updating the analysis we find that that there is no longer a difference in the probability of leaving jobs or in returns to tenure by gender. Differences in contracts to finance on the job training can no longer explain any of the "discrimination" component in the gender wage gap.

If employers believe females are more likel y to separate from a job than males, efficient cost s... more If employers believe females are more likel y to separate from a job than males, efficient cost sharing of on-the-job-tr aining implies that females will have higher returns to tenure. Becker and Lindsay (1994) argue that this is true empirically. (1994). Updating the analysis we find that that there is no longer a difference in the probability of leaving jobs or in returns to tenure by gender. Differences in contracts to finance on the job training can no longer explain any of the "discrimination" component in the gender wage gap.

Labour Economics, 2008

This paper analyses the impact of government grants on labour demand using plant level data for m... more This paper analyses the impact of government grants on labour demand using plant level data for manufacturing industry in Ireland. Our data consists of a large sample of plants and their complete grant history. We provide evidence that additional employment is created over and above the level that would have prevailed in the absence of grant payments. We also find differences in the employment response to subsidies between domestic and foreign-owned plants, with the former creating more additional jobs per euro of grant payment. Simple cost-benefit analysis reveals that a large part of the costs of grants appears to be recouped in additional wage streams under reasonable assumptions.