高低技術勞工間所得不均與休閒不均

Abstract

本篇論文的理論模型延續 [1] 的模型，進一步將勞動與休閒選擇的設定納入模型內，進而解釋近幾十年來，高低技術勞工間所得與休閒不均的現象。在我們的理論模型中，高低技術勞工將單位時間分配於休閒與勞動，其在提供勞動力的同時，必須運用知識解決生產過程中所遇到的問題，而從生產過程中，所獲得的所得，用於其消費。在市場均衡的條件下，我們進行比較靜態分析，發現：溝通技術水準的改善，是導致高低技術勞工間休閒不均的原因；同時，此種技術的改善，也是導致兩者所得不均的原因。

This paper constructs an equilibrium theory to explain wage inequality and leisure inequality between high skilled agents and low-skilled agents. Following [1], our theory extends their theory to consider labor-leisure choice. This extension allows us to explore leisure inequality between high- and low-skilled agents in a knowledge economy. In our economy, knowledge is a necessary input in production and agents allocate their time on leisure and labor. An equilibrium allocation is determined by the optimal choices of agents that use knowledge to produce and consume a single good. Our main results show that both wage inequality and leisure inequality between high-skilled agents and low-skilled agents are caused by improvements in communication technology. Wage inequality is amplified by leisure inequality, leading to a dramatic difference in earnings. These results are consistent with empirical findings.