IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ces/ceswps/_10797.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Minimum Wage Non-Compliance: The Role of Co-Determination

Author

Listed:
  • Laszlo Goerke
  • Markus Pannenberg

Abstract

We analyse in what way co-determination affects non-compliance with the German minimum wage, which was introduced in 2015. The Works Constitution Act (WCA), the law regulating co-determination at the plant level, provides works councils with indirect means to ensure compliance with the statutory minimum wage. Based on this legal situation, our theoretical model predicts that non-compliance is less likely in co-determined firms because works councils enhance the enforcement of the law. The economic correlates of co-determination, such as higher productivity and wages, affect non-compliance in opposite directions. The empirical analysis, using data from the German Socio-economic Panel (SOEP) for the years 2016 and 2019, demonstrates that non-compliance occurs less often for employees in co-determined establishments, while there is no impact on the difference between the minimum wage and the amount, which was actually paid. Therefore, co-determination helps to secure the payment of minimum wages.

Suggested Citation

  • Laszlo Goerke & Markus Pannenberg, 2023. "Minimum Wage Non-Compliance: The Role of Co-Determination," CESifo Working Paper Series 10797, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10797
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cesifo.org/DocDL/cesifo1_wp10797.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Clemens, Jeffrey & Strain, Michael R., 2022. "Understanding “Wage Theft”: Evasion and avoidance responses to minimum wage increases," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    2. Grenier, Gilles, 1982. "On Compliance with the Minimum Wage Law," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 90(1), pages 184-187, February.
    3. Drukker, David M., 2017. "Two-part models are robust to endogenous selection," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 71-72.
    4. Simon Jäger & Shakked Noy & Benjamin Schoefer, 2022. "The German Model of Industrial Relations: Balancing Flexibility and Collective Action," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 36(4), pages 53-80, Fall.
    5. Richard B. Freeman, 1980. "The Exit-Voice Tradeoff in the Labor Market: Unionism, Job Tenure, Quits, and Separations," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 94(4), pages 643-673.
    6. Caliendo Marco & Wittbrodt Linda & Schröder Carsten, 2019. "The Causal Effects of the Minimum Wage Introduction in Germany – An Overview," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 20(3), pages 257-292, August.
    7. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, April.
    8. Jeffrey Clemens, 2021. "How Do Firms Respond to Minimum Wage Increases? Understanding the Relevance of Non-employment Margins," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 35(1), pages 51-72, Winter.
    9. John T. Addison & Paulino Teixeira & Thomas Zwick, 2010. "German Works Councils and the Anatomy of Wages," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 63(2), pages 247-270, January.
    10. Carlos Garcia‐Serrano & Miguel A. Malo, 2002. "Worker Turnover, Job Turnover and Collective Bargaining in Spain," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 40(1), pages 69-85, March.
    11. Marco Caliendo & Alexandra Fedorets & Malte Preuss & Carsten Schröder & Linda Wittbrodt, 2023. "The short- and medium-term distributional effects of the German minimum wage reform," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 64(3), pages 1149-1175, March.
    12. Steven C. Salop, 1979. "Monopolistic Competition with Outside Goods," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 10(1), pages 141-156, Spring.
    13. Yaniv, Gideon, 2006. "On the employment effect of noncompliance with the minimum wage law," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 557-564, December.
    14. 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.
    15. Yang-Ming Chang, 1992. "Noncompliance Behavior of Risk-Averse Firms Under the Minimum Wage Law," Public Finance Review, , vol. 20(3), pages 390-401, July.
    16. Badaoui, Eliane & Walsh, Frank, 2022. "Productivity, non-compliance and the minimum wage," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    17. Joel Rogers & Wolfgang Streeck, 1995. "The Study of Works Councils: Concepts and Problems," NBER Chapters, in: Works Councils: Consultation, Representation, and Cooperation in Industrial Relations, pages 3-26, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Richard B. Freeman, 1980. "The Exit-Voice Tradeoff in the Labor Market: Unionism, Job Tenure, Quits," NBER Working Papers 0242, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. 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.
    20. Toralf Pusch, 2018. "Bilanz des gesetzlichen Mindestlohns: deutliche Lohnerhöhungen, aber auch viele Umgehungen [Three Years of Minimum Wage After in Germany: Substantial Wage Increases, But Also Many Violations]," Wirtschaftsdienst, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 98(4), pages 252-259, April.
    21. Pusch, Toralf, 2018. "Bilanz des Mindestlohns: Deutliche Lohnerhöhungen, verringerte Armut, aber auch viele Umgehungen," WSI Policy Briefs 19, The Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI), Hans Böckler Foundation.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bossler, Mario & Liang, Ying & Schank, Thorsten, 2024. "The Devil Is in the Details: Heterogeneous Effects of the German Minimum Wage on Working Hours and Minijobs," IZA Discussion Papers 16964, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    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. Clemens, Jeffrey & Strain, Michael R., 2022. "Understanding “Wage Theft”: Evasion and avoidance responses to minimum wage increases," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    2. Bossler, Mario & Liang, Ying & Schank, Thorsten, 2024. "The Devil Is in the Details: Heterogeneous Effects of the German Minimum Wage on Working Hours and Minijobs," IZA Discussion Papers 16964, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. García-Serrano, Carlos & Malo, Miguel A., 2009. "The impact of union direct voice on voluntary and involuntary absenteeism," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 372-383, March.
    4. Hirsch, Boris & Schank, Thorsten & Schnabel, Claus, 2009. "Works Councils and Separations: Voice, Monopoly, and Insurance Effects," IZA Discussion Papers 4126, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Badaoui, Eliane & Walsh, Frank, 2022. "Productivity, non-compliance and the minimum wage," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    6. repec:bla:etrans:v:11:y:2003-06:i:2:p:221-252 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Arindrajit Dube & Attila Lindner, 2024. "Minimum Wages in the 21st Century," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 2524, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    8. Harald Pfeifer, 2014. "Absenteeism in Apprenticeships: What Role Do Works Councils Play?," Economics of Education Working Paper Series 0098, University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW), revised Aug 2015.
    9. repec:ebl:ecbull:v:10:y:2007:i:4:p:1-7 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Adrian Chadi & Laszlo Goerke, 2023. "Seeking shelter in times of crisis? unemployment, perceived job insecurity and trade union membership," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 90(359), pages 1041-1088, July.
    11. Yaniv, Gideon, 2006. "On the employment effect of noncompliance with the minimum wage law," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 557-564, December.
    12. J. David Brown & John S. Earle, 2003. "The reallocation of workers and jobs in Russian industry," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 11(2), pages 221-252, June.
    13. Ben Kriechel & Samuel Muehlemann & Harald Pfeifer & Miriam Schütte, 2014. "Works Councils, Collective Bargaining, and Apprenticeship Training – Evidence From German Firms," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(2), pages 199-222, April.
    14. Kunaschk, Max, 2024. "The effects of minimum wages on employment and prices—Evidence from the hairdressing sector," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    15. repec:ebl:ecbull:v:10:y:2004:i:9:p:1-7 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Stansbury, Anna, 2024. "Incentives to Comply with the Minimum Wage in the US and UK," IZA Discussion Papers 16882, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Benjamin Bittschi & Astrid Pennerstorfer & Ulrike Schneider, 2015. "Paid and Unpaid Labour in Non-Profit Organizations: Does the Substitution Effect Exist?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 53(4), pages 789-815, December.
    18. Yang-Ming Chang & Bhavneet Walia, 2007. "Wage discrimination and partial compliance with the minimum wage law," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 10(4), pages 1-7.
    19. Clemens, Jeffrey & Strain, Michael R., 2023. "Does Wage Theft Vary by Demographic Group? Evidence from Minimum Wage Increases," IZA Discussion Papers 16550, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. Hunt, Jennifer & Laszlo, Sonia, 2005. "Bribery: Who Pays, Who Refuses, What are the Payoffs?," CEPR Discussion Papers 5251, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    21. Jun Li & Serguei Netessine & Sergei Koulayev, 2018. "Price to Compete … with Many: How to Identify Price Competition in High-Dimensional Space," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(9), pages 4118-4136, September.
    22. Gamba, Simona & Magazzini, Laura & Pertile, Paolo, 2021. "R&D and market size: Who benefits from orphan drug legislation?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    23. 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.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    co-determination; labor law; minimum wages; Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP); non- compliance; works councils;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General
    • J53 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Labor-Management Relations; Industrial Jurisprudence
    • K31 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Labor Law
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • M54 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Labor Management

    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:ces:ceswps:_10797. 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: Klaus Wohlrabe (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cesifde.html .

    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.