IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/joerap/v7y2024i2d10.1007_s41996-024-00136-4.html

Minimum Wage and Ethnic-Gaps: Who are the Winners?

Author

Listed:
  • Carlos Chávez

    (Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos)

Abstract

This paper attempts to answer whether minimum wage increases help to close ethnic-gap in Peru. To answer this question, I study the period 2004–2019 and estimate the effects of minimum wage increases based on nominal minimum wage, real minimum wage, and Kaitz index terms. Also, I use several econometric strategies, but mainly I rely the results on IV-OLS and IV-Probit. I find that the minimum wage has generally benefited Whites, Mestizos, and Andeans, but especially the latter, which has boosted the closing of ethnic-gap. Minimum Wage increases has benefited mainly the Andean people in the lowest income bracket, that is, on the most vulnerable population or dependent on changes in the minimum wage. However, I find also that the minimum wage also has benefited another specific group, the high-skilled mestizos, which indicates that while the gap is reduced on the lower side, it opens on the higher side. Finally, when I analyze the probability of being employed, having informal employment, and having stable employment, I find small and non-significant impacts in most of the estimates.

Suggested Citation

  • Carlos Chávez, 2024. "Minimum Wage and Ethnic-Gaps: Who are the Winners?," Journal of Economics, Race, and Policy, Springer, vol. 7(2), pages 93-121, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joerap:v:7:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1007_s41996-024-00136-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s41996-024-00136-4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s41996-024-00136-4
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s41996-024-00136-4?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bell, Linda A, 1997. "The Impact of Minimum Wages in Mexico and Colombia," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(3), pages 102-135, July.
    2. Alan B. Krueger & David Card, 2000. "Minimum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast-Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania: Reply," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(5), pages 1397-1420, December.
    3. Card, David & Krueger, Alan B, 1994. "Minimum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast-Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(4), pages 772-793, September.
    4. Del Carpio,Ximena Vanessa & Pabon,Laura M., 2017. "Implications of minimum wage increases on labor market dynamics lessons for emerging economies," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8030, The World Bank.
    5. Lucia Breierova & Esther Duflo, 2003. "The Impact of Education on Fertility and Child Mortality: Do Fathers Really Matter Less Than Mothers?," OECD Development Centre Working Papers 217, OECD Publishing.
    6. Gabriel Ulyssea, 2018. "Firms, Informality, and Development: Theory and Evidence from Brazil," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(8), pages 2015-2047, August.
    7. Sandra PONCET & Florian MAYNERIS & Tao ZHANG, 2014. "The cleansing effect of minimum wages - Minimum wages, firm dynamics and aggregate productivity in China," Working Papers P113, FERDI.
    8. repec:bla:pacecr:v:9:y:2004:i:3:p:191-207 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Miguel Jaramillo Baanante, 2004. "Minimum Wage Effects under Endogenous Compliance: Evidence from Peru," Económica, Departamento de Economía, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, vol. 0(1-2), pages 85-123, January-D.
    10. Gindling, T.H. & Terrell, Katherine, 2005. "The effect of minimum wages on actual wages in formal and informal sectors in Costa Rica," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(11), pages 1905-1921, November.
    11. Betcherman, Gordon, 2014. "Labor market regulations : what do we know about their impacts in developing countries ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6819, The World Bank.
    12. Sandra PONCET & Florian MAYNERIS & Tao ZHANG, 2014. "The cleansing effect of minimum wages - Minimum wages, firm dynamics and aggregate productivity in China," Working Papers P113, FERDI.
    13. Doruk Cengiz & Arindrajit Dube & Attila Lindner & Ben Zipperer, 2019. "The Effect of Minimum Wages on Low-Wage Jobs," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 134(3), pages 1405-1454.
    14. Dale Belman & Paul J. Wolfson, 2014. "What Does the Minimum Wage Do?," Books from Upjohn Press, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, number wdmwd.
    15. John Schmitt, 2013. "Why Does the Minimum Wage Have No Discernible Effect on Employment?," CEPR Reports and Issue Briefs 2013-04, Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR).
    16. Bird, Kelly & Manning, Chris, 2008. "Minimum Wages and Poverty in a Developing Country: Simulations from Indonesia's Household Survey," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 916-933, May.
    17. Truman Packard & Johannes Koettl & Claudio E. Montenegro, 2012. "In From the Shadow : Integrating Europe's Informal Labor," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 9377, April.
    18. John Foster & Luis J. Gonzalez & Carlos Lopes, 2019. "Income Inequality, Ethnic Diversity, and State Minimum Wages," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 100(3), pages 825-837, May.
    19. Del Valle, Marielle, 2009. "Impacto del ajuste de la Remuneración Mínima Vital sobre el empleo y la informalidad," Revista Estudios Económicos, Banco Central de Reserva del Perú, issue 16, pages 83-102.
    20. Belzil, Christian, 2004. "On the Specification of Mincerian Wage Regressions with Heterogeneity, Non-Linearity, Non-Separability, and Heteroskedasticity," IZA Discussion Papers 1083, IZA Network @ LISER.
    21. Wendy Cunningham, 2007. "Minimum Wages and Social Policy : Lessons from Developing Countries," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6760, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cuong Viet Nguyen, 2013. "The impact of minimum wages on employment of low-wage workers," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 21(3), pages 583-615, July.
    2. Haroon Bhorat & Tara Caetano & Benjamin Jourdan & Ravi Kanbur & Christopher Rooney & Benjamin Stanwix & Ingrid Woolard, 2016. "Investigating the Feasibility of a National Minimum Wage for South Africa," Working Papers 201601, University of Cape Town, Development Policy Research Unit.
    3. Meghan J. Millea & Jon P. Rezek & Brian Shoup & Joshua Pitts, 2017. "Minimum Wages in a Segmented Labor Market: Evidence from South Africa," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 335-359, September.
    4. Alessandra Brito & Miguel Foguel & Celia Kerstenetzky, 2017. "The contribution of minimum wage valorization policy to the decline in household income inequality in Brazil: A decomposition approach," Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(4), pages 540-575, October.
    5. Ma, Shuang & Li, Xuan & Wu, Xi, 2024. "Minimum wage and internal labor migration: Evidence from China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 226(C).
    6. Brown, Jessica H. & Herbst, Chris M., 2023. "Minimum Wage, Worker Quality, and Consumer Well-Being: Evidence from the Child Care Market," IZA Discussion Papers 16257, IZA Network @ LISER.
    7. Belman, Dale. & Wolfson, Paul J., 2016. "What does the minimum wage do in developing countries? : A review of studies and methodologies," ILO Working Papers 994893283402676, International Labour Organization.
    8. Robayo, Monica & Zamfir,Madalina & Wronski,Marcin, 2024. "Simulating Aggregate and Distributional Effects of Minimum Wage Increases in Romania : Evidence from Survey and Administrative Tax Data," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10934, The World Bank.
    9. 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.
    10. Jian, Lei & Wang, Meng & Wang, Xiaojia & Zhang, Yan, 2024. "Effects of minimum wage policies on executive compensation contracts: An empirical analysis in China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(PB).
    11. Arindrajit Dube & Attila Lindner, 2024. "Minimum Wages in the 21st Century," RFBerlin Discussion Paper Series 2425, ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin (RFBerlin).
    12. Neumark, David & Munguía Corella, Luis Felipe, 2021. "Do minimum wages reduce employment in developing countries? A survey and exploration of conflicting evidence," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    13. 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.
    14. Mohit Sharma & Brinda Viswanathan, 2022. "Minimum Wages in the Presence of Wage and Non-Wage Sectors in India: An Exploratory Analysis of the Non-Farm Sector," Working Papers 2022-225, Madras School of Economics,Chennai,India.
    15. Robayo,Monica & Terskaya,Anastasia & Koettl-Brodmann,Stefanie, 2020. "Ex-ante Evaluation of the Impact of Increases in Minimum Wages on Labor Market Outcomes in Kosovo," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9357, The World Bank.
    16. Rémi Bazillier & María Moraga-Fernández, 2025. "Minimum Wage Shocks, Firms and Employment Evidence from Africa," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 25006, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne.
    17. Sudheer Chava & Alexander Oettl & Manpreet Singh, 2023. "Does a One-Size-Fits-All Minimum Wage Cause Financial Stress for Small Businesses?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(11), pages 7095-7117, November.
    18. Jonathan Cribb & Giulia Giupponi & Robert Joyce & Attila Lindner & Tom Waters & Thomas Wernham & Xiaowei Xu, 2021. "The distributional and employment impacts of nationwide Minimum Wage changes," IFS Working Papers W21/48, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    19. Haroon Bhorat & Ravi Kanbur & Benjamin Stanwix, 2017. "Minimum Wages in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Primer," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 32(1), pages 21-74.
    20. Li, Sen & Tavafoghi, Hamidreza & Poolla, Kameshwar & Varaiya, Pravin, 2019. "Regulating TNCs: Should Uber and Lyft set their own rules?," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 193-225.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • E26 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Informal Economy; Underground Economy
    • J46 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Informal Labor Market

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:joerap:v:7:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1007_s41996-024-00136-4. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.