Immigration alone cannot explain it: a French perspective on the country’s crisis | Journalist Son Jin-seok and Professor Aurélien Loubert [Let’s Talk]

An independent exercise, not a statement by the video creator or verification of every claim in the video.

Recalculate with gross pay and total labor cost as denominators

For a hypothetical common period, set gross pay at 100, additional employer contributions at 30, and employee taxes and contributions at 20. Total employer cost is 130 and take-home pay is 80. Employer contributions are 30% of gross pay but 30 ÷ 130 × 100 ≈ 23.1% of total cost. The tax wedge, comparing total taxes and contributions with labor cost, is 50 ÷ 130 × 100 ≈ 38.5%. Different denominators and included items produce different ratios for the same employment relationship. Record the year, earnings level, household composition, cash benefits and relief included in any country comparison.

Check for yourself

1. Is the denominator gross earnings or total employer labor cost?
2. Does the numerator include only employer contributions or also employee taxes and contributions?
3. Does the burden vary within the same country by earnings and dependent children?

Limits of application

100, 30, 20, 130, 80, 30%, 30 ÷ 130 × 100 ≈ 23.1% and 50 ÷ 130 × 100 ≈ 38.5% are assumed values. This is not a calculation of actual French rates or take-home pay; cash benefits, ceilings, deductions and relief are omitted. It establishes no causal effect on employment or foreign investment.