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Regional variation of the minimum wages in China

Author

Listed:
  • Chunbing Xing

    (Beijing Normal University
    IZA)

  • Jianwei Xu

    (Beijing Normal University)

Abstract

This paper analyzes the regional variation of minimum wage in China. We first introduce the institutional background of China’s minimum-wage policy and then describe the regional variation of the minimum wages using detailed minimum-wage data since the late 1990s. A large regional variation exists in the period studied, and the regional variation has been declining since the late 1990s. Economic factors, including GDP, economic structure, and consumption level, are the main determinants for the large regional variation in the minimum wages. There is evidence suggesting that the regional variation is influenced by political factors, such as competition of local officials. Jel codes: J3, E2

Suggested Citation

  • Chunbing Xing & Jianwei Xu, 2016. "Regional variation of the minimum wages in China," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-22, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:izaldv:v:5:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1186_s40175-016-0054-x
    DOI: 10.1186/s40175-016-0054-x
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    Cited by:

    1. Christian Dreger & Reinhold Kosfeld & Yanqun Zhang, 2019. "Determining Minimum Wages In China: Do Economic Factors Dominate?," Review of Urban & Regional Development Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(1-2), pages 44-59, March.
    2. Bayari, Celal, 2018. "Economy and Market in China: The State, Wage Labour and the Construction of the ‘China Price’," MPRA Paper 100900, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 04 Mar 2018.
    3. Ren, Yanjun & Peng, Yanling & Campos, Bente Castro & Li, Houjian, 2021. "Higher minimum wage, better labour market returns for rural migrants? Evidence from China," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 34(1), pages 1814-1835.
    4. Tony Fang & Morley Gunderson & Carl Lin, 2021. "The impact of minimum wages on wages, wage spillovers, and employment in China: Evidence from longitudinal individual‐level data," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(2), pages 854-877, May.
    5. 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.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Minimum wage; Regional variation; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
    • E2 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment

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