A study on the relationship between the minimum wage and inflation in Brazil based on the inflation model of cost and distributive conflict

Abstract

In the present paper we discuss the dynamics of Brazilian inflation in the period 2000-2014 and its relation to the minimum wage policy, from the standpoint of cost-push inflation. Thus, the possible transmission channels that would lead to a relationship between the minimum wage and inflation are analyzed, evaluating the empirical plausibility of these transmission channels regarding the Brazilian data. It is concluded that the direct impact of minimum wage shocks' on inflation is limited, but the policy of minimum wage can also influence inflation in an indirect way. This indirect mechanism results from the effect that the minimum wage policy, in conjunction with other institutional policies and the labor market conditions, has on improving the bargaining power of workers and, as a consequence, the emergence of a more resilient wage inflation, since 2006.

Keywords:
Minimum wage; cost-push inflation; Distributive conflict; Nominal Wages; Real wages.