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How do firms adjust to rises in the minimum wage? Survey evidence from Central and Eastern Europe

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  • Bodnár, Katalin
  • Fadejeva, Ludmila
  • Iordache, Stefania
  • Malk, Liina
  • Paskaleva, Desislava
  • Pesliakaitė, Jurga
  • Jemec, Nataša Todorović
  • Tóth, Peter
  • Wyszyński, Robert

Abstract

We study the transmission channels for rises in the minimum wage using a unique firm-level dataset from eight Central and Eastern European countries. Representative samples of firms in each country were asked to evaluate the relevance of a wide range of adjustment channels following specific instances of rises in the minimum wage during the recent post-crisis period. The paper adds to the rest of literature by presenting the reactions of firms as a combination of strategies, and evaluates the relative importance of those strategies. Our findings suggest that the most popular adjustment channels are cuts in non-labour costs, rises in product prices, and improvements in productivity. Cuts in employment are less popular and occur mostly through reduced hiring rather than direct layoffs. Our study also provides evidence of potential spillover effects that rises in the minimum wage can have on firms without minimum wage workers. JEL Classification: D22, E23, J31

Suggested Citation

  • Bodnár, Katalin & Fadejeva, Ludmila & Iordache, Stefania & Malk, Liina & Paskaleva, Desislava & Pesliakaitė, Jurga & Jemec, Nataša Todorović & Tóth, Peter & Wyszyński, Robert, 2018. "How do firms adjust to rises in the minimum wage? Survey evidence from Central and Eastern Europe," Working Paper Series 2122, European Central Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20182122
    Note: 2881411
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    3. Katalin Bodnár & Ludmila Fadejeva & Stefania Iordache & Liina Malk & Desislava Paskaleva & Jurga Pesliakaitė & Nataša Todorović Jemec & Peter Tóth & Robert Wyszyński, 2018. "How do firms adjust to rises in the minimum wage? Survey evidence from Central and Eastern Europe," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 7(1), pages 1-30, December.
    4. Monika Martišková & Marta Kahancová & Jakub Kostolný, 2021. "Negotiating wage (in)equality: changing union strategies in high-wage and low-wage sectors in Czechia and Slovakia," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 27(1), pages 75-96, February.
    5. Grodzicki, Maciej J. & Możdżeń, Michał, 2021. "Central and Eastern European economies in a Goldilocks age: A model of labor market institutional choice," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    6. Garcia-Louzao, Jose & Tarasonis, Linas, 2023. "Wage and Employment Impact of Minimum Wage: Evidence from Lithuania," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 592-609.
    7. Csilla Lakatos & Andrea Rucska, 2022. "Health Anxiety Among the Normal Population and Healthcare Professionals in a Highly Disadvantaged Region During Three Waves of COVID-19," European Journal of Social Sciences Articles, Revistia Research and Publishing, vol. 5, July -Dec.
    8. repec:ces:ifodic:v:16:y:2019:i:4:p:50000000004807 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Biljana Jovanovic & Nikola Naumovski, 2021. "Minimum wage reform and firms’ performance – evidence from North Macedonia," Working Papers 2021-02, National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia.
    10. Chung-Khain Wye & Elya Nabila Abdul Bahri, 2021. "How does employment respond to minimum wage adjustment in China?," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 32(1), pages 90-114, March.
    11. Paul Eamets & Amaresh K. Tiwari, 2019. "Minimum Wage in Estonia and its Impact on Employment and Wage Distribution," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 16(04), pages 37-43, January.
    12. Pablo Blanchard & Paula Carrasco & Rodrigo Ceni & Cecilia Parada & Sofía Santín, 2021. "Distributive and displacement effects of a coordinated wage bargaining scheme," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 21-26, Instituto de Economía - IECON.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    adjustment channels; firm survey; minimum wage;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • E23 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Production
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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