基本工資、損失厭惡、與產業升級

Minimum Wages, Loss Aversion, and Industrial Upgrading

本文研究基本工資調漲對於弱勢勞工就業以及產業升級的影響。傳統見解認為基本工資調漲引起弱勢勞工失業，以及促進產業升級政府須投入大量資源支持。本文假設廠商與勞工存有損失厭惡心理。本文發現若損失厭惡有很大的影響，即使政府投入許多資源，產業升級很難成功。本文另外發現基本工資調漲可以削弱損失厭惡的影響，於是,廠商與勞工有較強動機尋求轉型，而產業升級成功機會提高。本文也發現，產業升級可以吸納失業的勞工，弱勢勞工失業問題可獲得部份舒解。

In the paper, we investigate the effects of increasing minimum wages on weak-labor employment and industrial upgrading. Traditional views think that an increase in minimum wages lead to weak-labor unemployment, and to promote industrial upgrading needs government to invest a lot of resources. Our study supposes that both manufacturers and labor all subject to the influence from loss aversion. It is found that if this influence is great, industrial upgrading is difficult to succeed. It is also found that increasing minimum wages could weaken the impact of loss aversion. Hence, both manufacturers and labor will have a stronger motivation to seek to upgrade, and this will enhance the chances of success of industrial upgrading. Additionally, the study also finds that industrial upgrading can absorb the unemployed labor, and thus alleviate the problem of weak-labor unemployment.