1.5 In the labour market for carpenters, the current market clearing wage rate is R800 per day. With the aid of a diagram, discuss the welfare effects of government intervention in the form of legislation that sets the minimum wage rate for a carpenter at R1000 per day. (20 marks
A minimum wage is binding only when imposed above equilibrium wage rate, as in this case. At a higher wage,, quantity of labor demanded decreases but quantity of labor supplied increases. This leads to a surplus of workers, and higher unemployment in labor market.
In following graph, wage rate (w) & quantity of labor (L) are depicted along vertical and horizontal axes respectively. D0 & S0 are labor demand & labor supply curves, intersecting at equilibrium point A with equilibrium wage rate w0 (= R800) and quantity of labor L0. When a minimum wage is set at the level w1 (= R1000), quantity of labor supplied increases to L1 but quantity of labor demanded decreases to L2, leading to an unemployment (surplus of labor) equal to (L1 - L2).
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