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The effect of minimum wages on employment in emerging economies: a survey and meta-analysis

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  • Stijn Broecke
  • Alessia Forti
  • Marieke Vandeweyer

Abstract

Using both qualitative and quantitative (meta-analysis) methods, this paper reviews the growing evidence on the impact of minimum wages on employment in 14 major emerging economies (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland, the Philippines, the Russian Federation, South Africa, Thailand and Turkey). Overall, minimum wages are found to have only a minimal impact on employment, and there is evidence of reporting bias towards statistically significant negative results. More vulnerable groups (e.g. youth and the low-skilled) are marginally more negatively affected, and there is some indication that higher minimum wages lead to more informal employment.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:oxdevs:v:45:y:2017:i:3:p:366-391
    DOI: 10.1080/13600818.2017.1279134
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    1. El salario mínimo en Colombia: nueva evidencia empírica sobre sus efectos y algunas consideraciones económicas y éticas
      by Nicolás de Roux in Foco Económico on 2021-07-27 21:11:03

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    4. Yang, Chih-Hai, 2023. "Strengthening worker benefits or destroying jobs: Effect of the 2008 Labor Contract Law in China," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    5. Eduardo Lora, 2020. "Empleo femenino en las ciudades colombianas: un método de descripción estadística," Revista Desarrollo y Sociedad, Universidad de los Andes,Facultad de Economía, CEDE, vol. 84(4), pages 131-179, February.
    6. Manuel Fernández & Gabriela Serrano, 2022. "New Perspectives on Inequality in Latin America," Documentos CEDE 20295, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    7. Carlo Lombardo & Lucía Ramirez-Veira & Leonardo Gasparini, 2022. "Does the Minimum Wage Affect Wage Inequality? A Study for the Six Largest Latin American Economies," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0302, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    8. David Neumark & Luis Felipe Munguia Corella, 2019. "Do Minimum Wages Reduce Employment in Developing Countries? A Survey and Exploration of Conflicting Evidence," NBER Working Papers 26462, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. 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).
    10. Chau, Nancy H. & Kanbur, Ravi & Soundararajan, Vidhya, 2022. "Employer Power and Employment in Developing Countries," IZA Discussion Papers 15514, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Jiménez Martínez, Mónica & Jiménez Martínez, Maribel, 2021. "Are the effects of minimum wage on the labour market the same across countries? A meta-analysis spanning a century," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 45(1).
    12. Young Cheol Jung & Adian McFarlane & Anupam Das, 2021. "The effect of minimum wages on consumption in Canada," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 32(1), pages 65-89, March.
    13. Cristian Valeriu Paun & Radu Nechita & Alexandru Patruti & Mihai Vladimir Topan, 2021. "The Impact of the Minimum Wage on Employment: An EU Panel Data Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-17, August.
    14. 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.
    15. Choi, Kyungsoo, 2018. "Employment Effect of Minimum Wage Increase," KDI Focus 90, Korea Development Institute (KDI).
    16. Servaas Storm, 2019. "Labor Laws and Manufacturing Performance in India: How Priors Trump Evidence and Progress Gets Stalled," Working Papers Series 90, Institute for New Economic Thinking.
    17. Mair, Simon & Druckman, Angela & Jackson, Tim, 2019. "Higher Wages for Sustainable Development? Employment and Carbon Effects of Paying a Living Wage in Global Apparel Supply Chains," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 11-23.
    18. 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.
    19. Luis E. Arango & Sergio A. Rivera, 2020. "“Disemployment” effects of the minimum wage in the Colombian manufacturing sector," Borradores de Economia 1107, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.
    20. International Monetary Fund, 2016. "Cross-Country Report on Minimum Wages: Selected Issues," IMF Staff Country Reports 2016/151, International Monetary Fund.
    21. Arango, Luis E. & Rivera, Sergio A., 2022. "Moderate wage increases and flexible labour contracts to protect employment in Colombian manufacturing," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 578-598.
    22. Gudibande, Rohan Ravindra & Jacob, Arun, 2020. "Minimum wages for domestic workers: impact evaluation of the Indian experience," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    23. Luis E. Arango & Luz A. Flórez, 2017. "Informalidad laboral y elementos para un salario mínimo diferencial por regiones en Colombia," Borradores de Economia 1023, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.

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