Working Paper: NBER ID: w13230
Authors: Christine Jolls
Abstract: Legal rules governing the employer-employee relationship are many and varied. Economic analysis has illuminated both the efficiency and the effects on employee welfare of such rules, as described in this paper. Topics addressed include workplace safety mandates, compensation systems for workplace injuries, privacy protection in the workplace, employee fringe benefits mandates, targeted mandates such as medical and family leave, wrongful discharge laws, unemployment insurance systems, minimum wage rules, and rules requiring that employees receive overtime pay. Both economic theory and empirical evidence are considered.
Keywords: employment law; labor market; market failures; employee welfare; workplace safety
JEL Codes: J08; J18; J38; K00; K31; K32
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| employment law regulations (K31) | efficiency (D61) |
| employment law regulations (K31) | employee welfare (J32) |
| market failures (D52) | efficiency (D61) |
| market failures (D52) | employee welfare (J32) |
| information failures (D83) | labor supply decisions (J22) |
| workplace safety mandates (J28) | efficiency (D61) |
| workplace safety mandates (J28) | employee welfare (J32) |
| targeted mandates (J48) | welfare for specific demographic groups (I38) |