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Wage Curve

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The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics

Abstract

This article summarizes evidence for the existence of a wage curve – a downward-sloping relationship between the level of pay and the local unemployment rate – in modern micro data. At the time of writing, the curve has been found in 40 nations. Its elasticity is approximately −0.1.

This chapter was originally published in The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd edition, 2008. Edited by Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume

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Acknowledgement

We thank Bruce Weinberg for helpful suggestions.

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Blanchflower, D.G., Oswald, A.J. (2008). Wage Curve. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_2544-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_2544-1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95121-5

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