Wage curve

The wage curve is the negative relationship between the levels of unemployment and wages that arises when these variables are expressed in local terms. According to David Blanchflower and Andrew Oswald (1994, p. 5), the wage curve summarizes the fact that 'A worker who is employed in an area of high unemployment earns less than an identical individual who works in a region with low joblessness.' The wage curve is the negative relationship between the levels of unemployment and wages that arises when these variables are expressed in local terms. According to David Blanchflower and Andrew Oswald (1994, p. 5), the wage curve summarizes the fact that 'A worker who is employed in an area of high unemployment earns less than an identical individual who works in a region with low joblessness.'