A mathematical contribution to the economic growth theory. Evidence on the relationship between wages and output from the Italian region

Abstract

In this manuscript, the authors empirically assess the impact of an increase in the wage per worker on the GDP per capita of the Italian regions. To achieve this research aim, the authors carry out a panel data regression analysis, relying on an identification strategy based on the standard Neoclassical model of economic growth. The authors’ results suggest that, on average, the output effect of an increase in the wage per worker is positive, with a substantial difference between the Northern and Center-Southern regions. The authors’ policy implication is that wage moderation does not represent a remedy to the economic stagnation that the Italian regions have been experiencing since the second half of the 1990s.