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The Combined Employment Effects of Minimum Wages and Labor Market Regulation—a Meta-Analysis

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  • Bernhard Boockmann

Abstract

This paper provides a meta-analysis of 55 empirical studies estimating the employment effects of minimum wages in 15 industrial countries. It strongly confirms the notion that the effects of minimum wages are heterogeneous between countries. As possible sources of heterogeneity, it considers the benefit replacement ratio, employment protection and the collective bargaining system. While the results are in line with theoretical expectations, the degree to which they are robust differs across these institutions. Comment by Alexandra Spitz-Oener.

Suggested Citation

  • Bernhard Boockmann, 2010. "The Combined Employment Effects of Minimum Wages and Labor Market Regulation—a Meta-Analysis," Applied Economics Quarterly (formerly: Konjunkturpolitik), Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 61(Supplemen), pages 167-188.
    • Handle: RePEc:aeq:aeqaeq:v61_y2010_is_q5_p167-188
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    2. Addison, John T. & Ozturk, Orgul Demet, 2011. "Minimum Wages, Labor Market Institutions, and Female Employment," Economics Series 278, Institute for Advanced Studies.
    3. Bernhard Boockmann & Raimund Krumm & Michael Neumann & Pia Rattenhuber, 2013. "Turning the Switch: An Evaluation of the Minimum Wage in the German Electrical Trade Using Repeated Natural Experiments," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 14(3), pages 316-348, August.
    4. Paulina Broniatowska & Aleksandra Majchrowska & Zbigniew ¯ó³kiewski, 2015. "Does minimum wage reduce youth employment on regional labour markets in Poland?," Lodz Economics Working Papers 1/2015, University of Lodz, Faculty of Economics and Sociology.
    5. Hanna Frings, 2013. "The Employment Effect of Industry-Specific, Collectively Bargained Minimum Wages," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 14(3), pages 258-281, August.
    6. Claudia M Buch & Linda S Goldberg, 2015. "International Banking and Liquidity Risk Transmission: Lessons from Across Countries," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 63(3), pages 377-410, November.
    7. Uma Rani, 2017. "Minimum Wage Policies and Their Effects in Developing Countries: A Comparative Perspective," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 60(1), pages 33-55, March.
    8. Bredemeier, Christian & Juessen, Falko, 2012. "Minimum Wages and Female Labor Supply in Germany," IZA Discussion Papers 6892, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. O’Higgins Niall & Pica Giovanni, 2020. "Complementarities between Labour Market Institutions and their Causal Impact on Youth Labour Market Outcomes," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 20(3), pages 1-37, July.
    10. Tomas Kucera, 2020. "Are Employment Effects of Minimum Wage the Same Across the EU? A Meta-Regression Analysis," Working Papers IES 2020/2, Charles University Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Economic Studies, revised Jan 2020.
    11. Nicolás Grau & Jorge Miranda & Esteban Puentes, 2018. "The Effects of the Minimum Wage on Employment and Wages," Working Papers wp466, University of Chile, Department of Economics.
    12. Carsten Schröder, 2014. "Kosten und Nutzen von Mindestlöhnen," DIW Roundup: Politik im Fokus 22, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    13. Patrick Belser & Uma Rani, 2015. "Minimum wages and inequality," Chapters, in: Janine Berg (ed.), Labour Markets, Institutions and Inequality, chapter 5, pages 123-146, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    14. Cantú, Carlos & Claessens, Stijn & Gambacorta, Leonardo, 2022. "How do bank-specific characteristics affect lending? New evidence based on credit registry data from Latin America," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    15. Koch, Andreas & Kirchmann, Andrea & Reiner, Marcel & Scheu, Tobias & Boockmann, Bernhard & Bonin, Holger, 2018. "Verhaltensmuster von Betrieben und Beschäftigten im Zuge der Einführung des gesetzlichen Mindestlohns," IZA Research Reports 84, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. John T. Addison & Orgul Demet Ozturk, 2012. "Minimum Wages, Labor Market Institutions, and Female Employment: A Cross-Country Analysis," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 65(4), pages 779-809, October.
    17. Stijn Broecke & Alessia Forti & Marieke Vandeweyer, 2017. "The effect of minimum wages on employment in emerging economies: a survey and meta-analysis," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(3), pages 366-391, July.
    18. Addison, John T. & Ozturk, Orgul Demet, 2010. "Minimum Wages, Labor Market Institutions, and Female Employment and Unemployment: A Cross-Country Analysis," IZA Discussion Papers 5162, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Alexandros Karakitsios & Manos Matsaganis, 2018. "Minimum Wage Effects on Poverty and Inequality," DEOS Working Papers 1801, Athens University of Economics and Business.
    20. 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.
    21. Hanna Frings, 2012. "The Employment Effect of Industry-Specific, Collectively-Bargained Minimum Wages," Ruhr Economic Papers 0348, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    22. Pestel, Nico & Bonin, Holger & Isphording, Ingo E. & Gregory, Terry & Caliendo, Marco, 2020. "Auswirkungen des gesetzlichen Mindestlohns auf Beschäftigung und Arbeitslosigkeit," IZA Research Reports 95, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Minimum wage; regulation; employment; meta-analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy
    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General
    • C12 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Hypothesis Testing: General

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