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Partial minimum wage compliance

Author

Listed:
  • Haroon Bhorat
  • Ravi Kanbur
  • Benjamin Stanwix

Abstract

In many developing countries, a significant portion of the wage distribution is found below the legal minimum wage. In order to fully understand the nature of this non-compliance, we need to compare the counterfactual wage distribution without the minimum wage law to the current wage distribution. Such a comparison could reveal partial compliance, where employers raise wages some of the way to the minimum wage, to balance out the benefits of non-compliance with the costs and penalties to the extent that they depend on the gap between the legal minimum wage and the wage actually paid. This paper presents a simple model of such partial compliance and uses its predictions to structure an empirical investigation of the impact of introducing a minimum wage law for agricultural workers in South Africa. We find that partial compliance is indeed taking place and further, the lowest wages are being raised disproportionately, consistent with the predictions of the model. JEL codes: J23, J25, J31, J32, J38, J43 Copyright Bhorat et al. 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Haroon Bhorat & Ravi Kanbur & Benjamin Stanwix, 2015. "Partial minimum wage compliance," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-20, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:izaldv:v:4:y:2015:i:1:p:1-20:10.1186/s40175-015-0039-1
    DOI: 10.1186/s40175-015-0039-1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Haroon BHORAT & Ravi KANBUR & Natasha MAYET, 2012. "Minimum wage violation in South Africa," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 151(3), pages 277-287, September.
    2. Dinkelman, Taryn & Ranchhod, Vimal, 2012. "Evidence on the impact of minimum wage laws in an informal sector: Domestic workers in South Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(1), pages 27-45.
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    8. Ashenfelter, Orley & Smith, Robert S, 1979. "Compliance with the Minimum Wage Law," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(2), pages 333-350, April.
    9. Haroon Bhorat & Ravi Kanbur & Benjamin Stanwix, 2014. "Estimating the Impact of Minimum Wages on Employment, Wages, and Non-Wage Benefits: The Case of Agriculture in South Africa," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 96(5), pages 1402-1419.
    10. Yaniv, Gideon, 2001. "Minimum Wage Noncompliance and the Employment Decision," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 19(3), pages 596-603, July.
    11. David S. Lee, 1999. "Wage Inequality in the United States During the 1980s: Rising Dispersion or Falling Minimum Wage?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(3), pages 977-1023.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Haroon Bhorat & Ravi Kanbur & Benjamin Stanwix & Amy Thornton, 2021. "Measuring Multi‐Dimensional Labour Law Violation with an Application to South Africa," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(3), pages 928-961, September.
    2. Badaoui, Eliane & Walsh, Frank, 2022. "Productivity, non-compliance and the minimum wage," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    3. Fontagné, Lionel & Limardi, Michela, 2024. "The Generalized System of Preferences and NGO activism," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    4. Karolina GORAUS‐TAŃSKA & Piotr LEWANDOWSKI, 2019. "Minimum wage violation in central and eastern Europe," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 158(2), pages 297-336, June.
    5. Aimal Khan & Dr. Anwar Shah & Dr. Ghulam Mustafa, 2023. "Minimum Wage Compliance In Pakistan: A Demographic Analysis," Bulletin of Business and Economics (BBE), Research Foundation for Humanity (RFH), vol. 12(3), pages 159-168.
    6. Nicolas Gonzalez-Pampillon & Javier Vazquez-Grenno, 2025. "Minimum wages and low wage workers: Compliance as non-employment margin," CEP Discussion Papers dp2096, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    7. Wannaphong Durongkaveroj, 2022. "Does the minimum wage improve the welfare of workers? Evidence from the 2013 minimum wage reform in Thailand," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 36(2), pages 52-70, November.
    8. Ham, Andrés, 2018. "The Consequences of Legal Minimum Wages in Honduras," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 135-157.
    9. Haroo Bhorat & Ravi Kanbur & Benjamin Stanwix, 2019. "Compliance with labor laws in developing countries," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 1-80, June.
    10. Pérez Pérez, Jorge, 2020. "The minimum wage in formal and informal sectors: Evidence from an inflation shock," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    11. Stansbury, Anna, 2024. "Incentives to Comply with the Minimum Wage in the US and UK," IZA Discussion Papers 16882, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Mario Bossler & Ursula Jaenichen & Simeon Schächtele, 2022. "How effective are enforcement measures for compliance with the minimum wage? Evidence from Germany," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(2), pages 943-971, May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Minimum Wages; South Africa; Compliance; Enforcement; Agriculture; Index of Minimum Wage Violation; Wage;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions
    • J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy
    • J43 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Agricultural Labor Markets

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