Building Blocks in the Economics of Mandates
33 Pages Posted: 8 Dec 2005
Date Written: November 2005
Abstract
The paper constructs an asymmetric information model to investigate the efficiency and equity cases for government mandated benefits. A mandate can improve workers' insurance, and may also redistribute in favour of more deserving workers. The risk is that it may also reduce output. The more diverse are free market contracts - separating the various worker types - the more likely it is that such output effects will on balance serve to reduce welfare. It is shown that adverse effects can be reduced by restricting mandates to larger firms. An alternative to a mandate is direct government provision. We demonstrate that direct government provision has the advantage over mandates of preserving separations.
Keywords: asymmetric information, labour mandates, compensation packages
JEL Classification: D82, J33
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation