Reservation Wage
Reservation Wage is a concept in Labour economics which suggests that each worker has a specific wage rate whereby they are induced to perform paid market work. Wages offered below a worker's reservation wage would keep said worker from participating in the labor force.
An individual's reservation wage is not set in stone and therefore can change over time depending on a number of factors which include the increase/decrease of an individuals overall wealth, change in marital status or living arrangements, length of unemployment and health & disability issues.
Example:
A worker was recently laid off from her job making 10 dollars per hour. She began receving Unemployment Benefits roughly equal to her former salary. During her job search she was offered numerous jobs paying in the 6 to 8 dollar per hour range. Though she wished to work these jobs were turned down because she had a reservation wage of 10 dollars per hour. This reservation wage was a product of at least two elements: 1. Her previous job paid her 10 dollars per hour and, 2. She was receiving unemployment benefits which were greater than the salary of the job offers.
Her reservation wage is not set at 10 dollars per hour. Suppose her unemployment benefits run out and she has just endured a few months of unsuccesful job searching she may be induced to adjust her reservation wage and take a job which pays less than her previous one. On the other hand, if she wins the lottery or comes into a large sum of money during this time her reservation wage may jump to the point where even job offers at double her former salary would still not meet the requirements of her new reservation wage.