DISTRIBUTIVE EFFECTS OF MINIMUM WAGE IN THE LABOR MARKET OF NORTHEAST REGION

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the impact of the minimum wage (MW) on the distribution ofearnings in the labor market of the Northeast Region of Brazil in the 2002-2012 period. The analysis was based on the simulation methodology proposed by DiNardo, Fortin and Lemieux (1996) that estimate counter factual Kernel density functions, and used the microdata provided by the National Sample Survey (PNAD) of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). Sample data covered a population of females and males. The results revealed that the minimum wage, the degree of formalization in labor relations, and the set of individual attributes had a positive impact on the distribution of earnings among both female and male workers. However, for men, the de-concentrating effect of the minimum wage is more intense compared to women. In summary, the results suggest that the minimum wage has been important to reduce the dispersion of labor income in recent years.摘要 本文考察了2002至2012年巴西东北部地区劳动力市场中最低工资（Minimum Wage, MW）对收入分布的影响。本研究采用DiNardo、Fortin与Lemieux（1996）提出的模拟方法，该方法用于估计反事实核密度函数，并使用了巴西地理与统计研究所（Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, IBGE）的全国抽样调查（National Sample Survey, PNAD）提供的微观数据。样本数据涵盖了男性与女性劳动者群体。研究结果显示，最低工资、劳动关系正规化程度以及各类个体特征，均对男女劳动者的收入分布产生了正向影响。不过相较于女性，最低工资对男性劳动者的收入去集中化效应更为显著。综上，研究结果表明，近年来最低工资对于缩小劳动收入差距具有重要作用。