İktisat Yazınında Neoklasik Paradigma ve Asgari Ücret Tartışmaları

Abstract

Türkiye’de asgari ücret istihdam üzerine olan olası etkileri açısından son yıllarda en çok tartışılan kamu politikası araçlarından biri haline gelmiştir. Tartışmalar iktisat literatüründe bir asırdan fazla süredir hâkim paradigma olan neoklasik iktisadın ‘asgari ücret artışı işsizliği ve kayıt dışılığı artırır’ şeklinde özetlenebilecek tezleri üzerinden sürmektedir. Oysa akademik alanda neoklasik paradigmanın bu konudaki tezlerinin mutlak hâkimiyeti ve tarihsel süreçte bu tezler etrafında oluşan kesin uzlaşma 1990’lı yıllarda sona ermiştir. Bu çalışmada, öncelikle neoklasik paradigmanın asgari ücret konusundaki mutlak hâkimiyetinin tarihsel süreçte nasıl oluştuğu, geliştiği ve sona erdiği araştırılmıştır. Öte yandan, asgari ücretle ilgili paradigmanın değişmesinde sosyoekonomik faktörler de etkili olmuştur. Son kırk yıldır, birçok gelişmiş ve gelişmekte olan ülkede uygulanan neoliberal politikalar sonucunda sendikacılık ve toplu pazarlık gibi kolektif mekanizmaların etkisi azalmış, ücret eşitsizliği ve yoksul çalışan sayısı artmıştır. Bu gelişmeler asgari ücrete olan ihtiyacın ve ilginin hemen her ülkede artmasına neden olmuştur. Bu bağlamda, asgari ücreti pratikte önemi ve kullanımı artan bir politika haline getiren ekonomik, politik ve sosyal süreçlerin değişimleri de tartışılmıştır. Son olarak bulgular Türkiye asgari ücreti ile ontolojik ve kurumsal olarak karşılaştırılmış ve Türkiye’de asgari ücret konusunda neoklasik paradigmanın hâkimiyetinin sürdüğü tespit edilmiştir. Ayrıca endüstriyel ilişkiler sisteminin değişmesiyle istihdam piyasasında asgari ücrete olan ihtiyacın arttığı, ekonomi politikası ve sosyal politika anlamında asgari ücretin potansiyelinin yüksek olduğu fakat etkin kullanılmadığı sonucuna ulaşılmıştır

Keywords

• neoklasik iktisat, asgari ücret, Türkiye

Neoclassical paradigm and minimum wage debates in the economics literature

Abstract

In Turkey, the minimum wage has become one of the most debated public policy instruments in recent years due to its potential effects on employment. The discussions have been mainly based on the mainstream neoclassical paradigm that can be summarized as “raising minimum wage increases unemployment and informal employment”. However, the dominance of the neoclassical paradigm that minimum wages have negative employment effects and this consensus view began to unravel in the 1990s. First, in this study, we investigate how the neoclassical paradigm on the minimum wage dominated the economics literature, developed and ended over time. On the other hand, there are also socioeconomic factors that influenced the change in the paradigm on the minimum wage. During the last four decades, the collective mechanisms such as unionism and collective bargaining have weakened, the wage inequality and the number of working poor have increased due to the neoliberal policies implemented in several developed and developing countries. These developments have led the minimum wage to gain importance and to be used more actively in almost all countries. In this context, we also discuss the changes in economic, political and social processes that contributed to the steadily increasing interest on the minimum wage and the use of the minimum wage more actively in both developed and developing countries. Finally, the findings are ontologically and institutionally compared with the minimum wage in Turkey and it is revealed that the neoclassical paradigm is still dominant. Furthermore, it is concluded that the need for the minimum wage in the labor market has increased due to the change in industrial relations system, the minimum wage is highly important as an economic and social policy tool, but the minimum wage policy is not implemented effectively

Keywords

• neoclassical economics, minimum wage, Turkey

References

1. Abowd, J.M., Kramarz, F. and Margolis, D.N. (2000) “Minimum wages and employment in France and the United States”, NBER Chapters, in: Youth Employment and Joblessness in Advanced Countries, National Bureau of Economic Research, 427-472.
2. Addison, J., McKinley, T. and Blackburn, L. (1999) “Minimum wages and poverty”, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 52(3), 393-409.
3. Addison, J.T., Blackburn, M. and Cotti, C.D. (2011) “Minimum Wage Increases in a Soft U.S. Economy”, Reihe Okonomie Economics Series, 273, 1-40.
4. Aslan G. (2013) Salaire minimum en Turquie: Impacts sur les inégalités, la pauvreté et l’emploi, Thèse, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.
5. Aslan G. ve Kirat D. (2015) “Impact du salaire minimum sur l’emploi dans les pays en développement: cas de la Turquie”, Revue Travail et Emploi, n°142, 41-54.
6. Bahaskar, V. and To, T. (1999) “Minimum wages for Ronald McDonald monopsonies: A theory of monopsonistic competition”, The Economic Journal, 109, 190-203.
7. BIT (2009) Rapport mondial sur les salaires 2008-09, Salaire minimum et négociation collective: vers une politique salariale cohérente, BIT (Bureau international du Travail), Genève.
8. BIT (2011) Rapport mondial sur les salaires 2010/2011: Politiques salariales en temps de crise, BIT (Bureau international du Travail), Genève.

9. Bontrup, H-J. (2011) “Zur grössten Finanz- und Wirtschaftskrise seit achtzig Jahren, Ein kritischer Rück- und Ausblick mit Alternativen”, Hrsg. DGB-Bezierk Niedersachsen-Bremen-Sachsen-Anhalt Abteilung Wirtschaft-Umwelt- Europa, Hannover
10. Brown, C., Gilroy, C. and Kohen, A. (1982) “The Effect of Minimum Wage on Employment and Unemployment”, Journal of Economic Literature, 20(2), June, 487-528.
11. Card, D. and Krueger A.B. (1994) “Minimum Wages and Employment: A case study of the Fast-Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania”, American Economic Review, 84: 772-84.
12. Card, D. and Krueger, A.B. (1995) Myth and Measurement: The New Economics of the Minimum Wage, Princeton University Press.
13. Clark J.B. (1913) “The Minimum Wage”, The Atlantic Monthly, September, 289-291.
14. Currie, J., Fallick, B. (1996) “The Minimum Wage and the Employment of Youth: Evidence from the NLSY”, Journal of Human Resources, 31(2), 404-428.
15. Dickens, R., Machin, S. and Manning, A. (1999 “The Effects of Minimum Wages on Employment: Theory and Evidence from Britain”, Journal of Labor Economics, 17, 1-22.
16. Dolado, J., Kramarz, F., Machin, S., Manning, A., Margolis, D. and Tuelings, C. (1995) “The Economic Impact of Minimum Wages in Europe”, Economic Policy, 23, 317-72.
17. Doucouliagos, H. and Stanley, T.D. (2009) “Publication Selection Bias in Minimum- Wage Research? A Meta-Regression Analysis”, British Journal of Industrial Relations, 47(2), 406-428.
18. Dube, A., Lester, T.W. and Reich, M. (2010) “Minimum Wage Effects Across State Borders: Estimates Using Contiguous Counties”, Review of Economics and Statistics, 92(4), 945-964.
19. EPI-Economic Policy Institute, (2014) “Over 600 Economists Sign Letter In Support of $10.10 Minimum Wage”, Economist Statement on the Federal Minimum (11.09.2018).
20. http://www.epi.org/minimum-wage-statement/,
21. Eyraud, F. ve Saget, C. (2005), L’essentiel sur les salaires minimums dans le monde, La documentation Française, OIT.
22. Fulton, L. (2013) “La représentation des travailleurs en Europe”. Labour Research Department et ETUI. Réalisé avec l'aide du Réseau SEEurope, publication en ligne, disponible sur : http://fr.worker-participation.eu/Systemes-nationaux
23. Gautié, J. (2015) “D'un siècle à l'autre, salaire minimum, science économique et débat public aux États-Unis, en France et au Royaume-Uni (1890-2015)” Document de travail (Docweb), nº 1518, 1-48.
24. Harvey, D. (2014) Brève histoire du néolibéralisme, Les Prairies Ordinaires, Paris.
25. Harvey, D. (2015) Neoliberalizmin Kısa Tarihi, (çev. Aylin Önocak), İstanbul: Sel Yayınları.
26. Herrera, R. (2010) Un autre capitalisme n’est pas possible, Éditions Syllepse, Paris.
27. Hirsch, B.T., Kaufman, B.E. and Zelenska, T. (2015) “Minimum Wage Channels of Adjustment”, Industrial Relations, 54 (2), 199-239.
28. ILO (2016) Global wage Report 2016/2017: Wage inequality in the workplace, ILO (International Labour Organization), Genève.
29. Keen, S. (2009) “Neoclassical Economics: Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know”, Real-World Economics Review, vol.49, part I, 2-8.
30. Keyder, Ç. (2011) “Toplumsal ve Ekonomik Boyutlarıyla Dünyada Değişim”, http://arsivde.blogspot.com.tr/2011/08/caglar-keyder-toplumsal-ve- ekonomik.html, (17.05.2016).
31. Koç, A. (2016) “Türkiye’de 1980 Sonrasının Politik İktisadı Bağlamında Asgari Ücret Analizi” Çalışma ve Toplum, 2016/3, 1387-1408.
32. Kuddo, A.; Robalino, D.; Weber, M. (2015) “Balancing regulations to promote jobs: From employment contracts to unemployment benefits” (Washington, DC, World Bank Group).
33. Kutal, M. (2005) “Türk Sendikacılığını Çevreleyen Olumsuz Koşullar, Özellikler ve Yeni Bir Yapılanma İhtiyacı”, Çalışma ve Toplum, 5 (2), 11-26.
34. Lester, R.A. (1946) “Shortcomings of Marginal Analysis for Wage-Employment Problems”, American Economic Review, 36(1), March, 63-82.
35. Lester, R.A. (1947) “Marginalism, Minimum Wages and the Labor Markets”, American Economic Review, 37(1), March, 135-148.
36. Leonard, T.C. (2000) "The Very Idea of Applying Economics: The Modern Minimum-Wage Controversy and Its Antecedents", History of Political Economy, 32(5), 117-1
37. Machin, S. and Manning, A. (1994) “The Effects of Minimum Wage on Wage Dispersion and Employment: Evidence from the U.K Wage Councils”, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, vol.47, 319-329.
38. Mankiw, G. (2009) Makroekonomi, (Ed. ve çev. Ö. F. Çolak), Efil, Ankara.
39. Manning, A. (2003) Monopsony in Motion: Imperfect Competition in Labor Markets, Princeton University Press, Princeton.
40. Manning, A. (2010) “Imperfect competition in the labour market”, document de réflexion n° 981 du CEP (London School of Economics and Political Science), 1-91.
41. Metcalf, D. (2007) “Why has the British National Minimum Wage had Little or no Impact on Employment?”, Discussion Paper n° 781, Center for Economic Performance, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK, 1-88.
42. Neumark, D., Wascher W.L. (1992) “Employment Effects of Minimum and Subminimum Wages: Panel Data on State Minimum Wage Laws “, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 46(1), 55-81.
43. Powers, E.T. (2010) “The Impact of Minimum Wage Increases: Evidence from Fast- Food Establishments in Illinois and Indiana”, National Poverty Center Working Paper Series 10-01, 1-50.
44. Prasch, R.E. (2007) “Professor Lester and the Neoclassicals: the Marginalist controversy and the Postwar Academic Debate over Minimum Wage Legislation,1945-1950”, Journal of Economic Issues, 41(3), September, 809-825.
45. OCDE (2008) Economic Survey of Turkey, Editions OCDE, Paris.
46. OCDE (2010) Economic Survey of Turkey, Editions OCDE, Paris.
47. OCDE (2012) Economic Survey of Turkey, Editions OCDE, Paris.
48. OCDE (2014) Economic Survey of Turkey, Editions OCDE, Paris.
49. Ostry, J.D., Loungani, P. and Furceri, D. (2016) “Neoliberalism: Oversold?”, Finance& Development, Vol. 53, No. 2, June, 38-41.
50. Saboia J., (2009) “Salaire minimum et distribution de revenu au Brésil sur la période 1995-2005 Evolution et résultats de simulations”, Revue Tiers monde, 2009/3, 199, 567-589.
51. Starr, G. (1982) La fixation des salaires minima: Objet, méthodes et problèmes, Une étude internationale, BIT, Genève.
52. Stigler, G.J. (1946) “The Economics of Minimum Wage Legislation”, American Economic Review, 36(3), June, 358-365.