IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ecb/ecbwps/20182122.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

How do firms adjust to rises in the minimum wage? Survey evidence from Central and Eastern Europe

Author

Listed:
  • Bodnár, Katalin
  • Fadejeva, Ludmila
  • Iordache, Stefania
  • Malk, Liina
  • Paskaleva, Desislava
  • Pesliakaitė, Jurga
  • Jemec, Nataša Todorović
  • Tóth, Peter
  • Wyszyński, Robert

Abstract

We study the transmission channels for rises in the minimum wage using a unique firm-level dataset from eight Central and Eastern European countries. Representative samples of firms in each country were asked to evaluate the relevance of a wide range of adjustment channels following specific instances of rises in the minimum wage during the recent post-crisis period. The paper adds to the rest of literature by presenting the reactions of firms as a combination of strategies, and evaluates the relative importance of those strategies. Our findings suggest that the most popular adjustment channels are cuts in non-labour costs, rises in product prices, and improvements in productivity. Cuts in employment are less popular and occur mostly through reduced hiring rather than direct layoffs. Our study also provides evidence of potential spillover effects that rises in the minimum wage can have on firms without minimum wage workers. JEL Classification: D22, E23, J31

Suggested Citation

  • Bodnár, Katalin & Fadejeva, Ludmila & Iordache, Stefania & Malk, Liina & Paskaleva, Desislava & Pesliakaitė, Jurga & Jemec, Nataša Todorović & Tóth, Peter & Wyszyński, Robert, 2018. "How do firms adjust to rises in the minimum wage? Survey evidence from Central and Eastern Europe," Working Paper Series 2122, European Central Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20182122
    Note: 2881411
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.ecb.europa.eu//pub/pdf/scpwps/ecb.wp2122.en.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jonathan Wadsworth, 2010. "Did the National Minimum Wage Affect UK Prices?," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 31(1), pages 81-120, March.
    2. Tor Eriksson & Mariola Pytlikova, 2004. "Firm‐level Consequences of Large Minimum‐wage Increases in the Czech and Slovak Republics," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 18(1), pages 75-103, March.
    3. Yi Huang & Prakash Loungani & Gewei Wang, 2014. "Minimum wages and firm employment: evidence from China," Globalization Institute Working Papers 173, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
    4. David Neumark & William Wascher, 2006. "Minimum Wages and Employment: A Review of Evidence from the New Minimum Wage Research," NBER Working Papers 12663, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Aretz Bodo & Gregory Terry & Arntz Melanie, 2013. "The Minimum Wage Affects Them All: Evidence on Employment Spillovers in the Roofing Sector," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 14(3), pages 282-315, August.
    6. Gregory, Terry, 2014. "When the minimum wage bites back: Quantile treatment effects of a sectoral minimum wage in Germany," ZEW Discussion Papers 14-133, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    7. repec:sae:ilrrev:v:13:y:1960:i:2:p:254-263 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Katalin Bodnár & Ludmila Fadejeva & Stefania Iordache & Liina Malk & Desislava Paskaleva & Jurga Pesliakaitė & Nataša Todorović Jemec & Peter Tóth & Robert Wyszyński, 2018. "How do firms adjust to rises in the minimum wage? Survey evidence from Central and Eastern Europe," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 7(1), pages 1-30, December.
    9. Barry T. Hirsch & Bruce E. Kaufman & Tetyana Zelenska, 2015. "Minimum Wage Channels of Adjustment," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2), pages 199-239, April.
    10. Christopher J. Flinn, 2006. "Minimum Wage Effects on Labor Market Outcomes under Search, Matching, and Endogenous Contact Rates," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 74(4), pages 1013-1062, July.
    11. Simona Ferraro & Jaanika Meriküll & Karsten Staehr, 2018. "Minimum wages and the wage distribution in Estonia," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(49), pages 5253-5268, October.
    12. Bodo Aretz & Melanie Arntz & Terry Gregory & Christian Rammer, 2012. "Der Mindestlohn im Dachdeckerhandwerk: Auswirkungen auf Beschäftigung, Arbeitnehmerschutz und Wettbewerb [The minimum wage in the roofing sector: impact on employment, worker protection and competi," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 45(3), pages 233-256, December.
    13. Neumark, David & Wascher, William, 2001. "Minimum Wages and Training Revisited," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 19(3), pages 563-595, July.
    14. Daron Acemoglu & Jörn-Steffen Pischke, 2003. "Minimum Wages And On-The-Job Training," Research in Labor Economics, in: Worker Well-Being and Public Policy, pages 159-202, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    15. Kamila Fialová & Martina Mysíková, 2009. "The Minimum Wage: Labor Market Consequences in the Czech Republic," Czech Journal of Economics and Finance (Finance a uver), Charles University Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, vol. 59(3), pages 255-274, August.
    16. Peter Harasztosi & Attila Lindner, 2019. "Who Pays for the Minimum Wage?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(8), pages 2693-2727, August.
    17. Philip R. Lane & Gian Maria Milesi-Ferretti, 2015. "Global Imbalances and External Adjustment After the Crisis," Central Banking, Analysis, and Economic Policies Book Series, in: Claudio Raddatz & Diego Saravia & Jaume Ventura (ed.),Global Liquidity, Spillovers to Emerging Markets and Policy Responses, edition 1, volume 20, chapter 4, pages 105-142, Central Bank of Chile.
    18. Cahuc, Pierre, 2014. "Search, flows, job creations and destructions," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 22-29.
    19. Mirko Draca & Stephen Machin & John Van Reenen, 2011. "Minimum Wages and Firm Profitability," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 3(1), pages 129-151, January.
    20. Lawrence F. Katz & Alan B. Krueger, 1992. "The Effect of the Minimum Wage on the Fast-Food Industry," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 46(1), pages 6-21, October.
    21. Marit Hinnosaar & Tairi Room, 2003. "The impact of minimum wage on the labour market in Estonia: an empirical analysis," Bank of Estonia Working Papers 2003-8, Bank of Estonia, revised 12 Oct 2003.
    22. Oren M. Levin-Waldman & George W. McCarthy, "undated". "Small Business and the Minimum Wage," Economics Policy Note Archive 98-3, Levy Economics Institute.
    23. Biswajit Banerjee & Matija Vodopivec & Urban Sila, 2013. "Wage setting in Slovenia: interpretation of the Wage Dynamics Network (WDN) survey findings in an institutional and macroeconomic context," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 2(1), pages 1-23, December.
    24. William M. Boal & Michael R. Ransom, 1997. "Monopsony in the Labor Market," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 35(1), pages 86-112, March.
    25. Piotr Lewandowski & Agnieszka Kaminska, 2015. "The effects of minimum wage on a labour market with high temporary employment," IBS Working Papers 7/2015, Instytut Badan Strukturalnych.
    26. Richard Dickens & Alan Manning, 2003. "Minimum Wage, Minimum Impact," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Richard Dickens & Paul Gregg & Jonathan Wadsworth (ed.), The Labour Market Under New Labour, chapter 13, pages 201-213, Palgrave Macmillan.
    27. 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.
    28. Lee, David & Saez, Emmanuel, 2012. "Optimal minimum wage policy in competitive labor markets," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(9-10), pages 739-749.
    29. Orley C. Ashenfelter & Henry Farber & Michael R. Ransom, 2010. "Modern Models of Monopsony in Labor Markets: A Brief Survey," Working Papers 1223, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    30. Gabor Kertesi & Janos Kollo, 2001. "Economic transformation and the revaluation of human capital - Hungary, 1986-1999," Budapest Working Papers on the Labour Market 0104, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.
    31. Sara Lemos, 2008. "A Survey Of The Effects Of The Minimum Wage On Prices," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 187-212, February.
    32. Kraft, Kornelius & Rammer,Christian & Gottschalk, Sandra, 2012. "Minimum wages and competition: The case of the German roofing sector," ZEW Discussion Papers 12-083, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    33. repec:pri:cepsud:178lee is not listed on IDEAS
    34. repec:fth:prinin:298 is not listed on IDEAS
    35. European Commission, 2013. "Tax reforms in EU Member States - Tax policy challenges for economic growth and fiscal sustainability – 2013 Report," Taxation Papers 38, Directorate General Taxation and Customs Union, European Commission.
    36. Peter Kuhn, 2004. "Is monopsony the right way to model labor markets? a review of Alan Manning's monopsony in motion," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(3), pages 369-378.
    37. Lawrence Katz & Alan Krueger, 1992. "The Effect of the Minimum Wage on the Fast Food Industry," Working Papers 678, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    38. Kambayashi, Ryo & Kawaguchi, Daiji & Yamada, Ken, 2013. "Minimum wage in a deflationary economy: The Japanese experience, 1994–2003," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 264-276.
    39. Adam J. Grossberg & Paul Sicilian, 1999. "Minimum Wages, On-the-Job Training, and Wage Growth," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 65(3), pages 539-556, January.
    40. David Neumark & J. M. Ian Salas & William Wascher, 2014. "Revisiting the Minimum Wage—Employment Debate: Throwing Out the Baby with the Bathwater?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 67(3_suppl), pages 608-648, May.
    41. Jeroen horemans & Ive Marx & Brian Nolan, 2015. "Hanging in, but only just. Part-time employment and in-work poverty throughout the crisis," Working Papers 1503, Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy, University of Antwerp.
    42. Ashenfelter, Orley & Farber, Henry S & Ransom, Michael R., 2010. "Modern Models of Monopsony in Labor Markets: A Brief Survey," IZA Discussion Papers 4915, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    43. Bruce E. Kaufman, 2010. "Institutional Economics and the Minimum Wage: Broadening the Theoretical and Policy Debate," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 63(3), pages 427-453, April.
    44. Harding, Don & Harding, Glenys, 2004. "Minimum wages in Australia: an analysis of the impact on small and medium sized businesses," MPRA Paper 25, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    45. 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.
    46. Lechthaler, Wolfgang & Snower, Dennis J., 2008. "Minimum wages and training," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(6), pages 1223-1237, December.
    47. 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).
    48. Majchrowska, Aleksandra & Zółkiewski, Zbigniew, 2012. "The impact of minimum wage on employment in Poland," INVESTIGACIONES REGIONALES - Journal of REGIONAL RESEARCH, Asociación Española de Ciencia Regional, issue 24, pages 211-239.
    49. Pia Rattenhuber, 2014. "Building the minimum wage: the distributional impact of Germany’s first sectoral minimum wage on wages and hours across different wage bargaining regimes," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 46(4), pages 1429-1446, June.
    50. Daniel Aaronson & James M. MacDonald, 2000. "How do retail prices react to minimum wage increases?," Working Paper Series WP-00-20, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
    51. Claudio Raddatz & Diego Saravia & Jaume Ventura, 2015. "Global Liquidity, Spillovers to Emerging Markets and Policy Responses: An Overview," Central Banking, Analysis, and Economic Policies Book Series, in: Claudio Raddatz & Diego Saravia & Jaume Ventura (ed.),Global Liquidity, Spillovers to Emerging Markets and Policy Responses, edition 1, volume 20, chapter 1, pages 001-011, Central Bank of Chile.
    52. Toke Aidt & Zafiris Tzannatos, 2002. "Unions and Collective Bargaining : Economic Effects in a Global Environment," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 15241.
    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. Maciej Albinowski & Piotr Lewandowski, 2022. "The heterogeneous regional effects of minimum wages in Poland," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(2), pages 237-267, April.
    2. Garcia-Louzao, Jose & Tarasonis, Linas, 2023. "Wage and Employment Impact of Minimum Wage: Evidence from Lithuania," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 592-609.
    3. Morakeng Edward Kenneth Lebaka, 2023. "The Significant Role Played by Long Social Connections and a Pleasant Interactive Experience Among Traditional Bapedi Music Practitioners," European Journal of Social Sciences Articles, Revistia Research and Publishing, vol. 6, ejss_v6_i.
    4. Katalin Bodnár & Ludmila Fadejeva & Stefania Iordache & Liina Malk & Desislava Paskaleva & Jurga Pesliakaitė & Nataša Todorović Jemec & Peter Tóth & Robert Wyszyński, 2018. "How do firms adjust to rises in the minimum wage? Survey evidence from Central and Eastern Europe," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 7(1), pages 1-30, December.
    5. 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).
    6. repec:ces:ifodic:v:16:y:2019:i:4:p:50000000004807 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Biljana Jovanovic & Nikola Naumovski, 2021. "Minimum wage reform and firms’ performance – evidence from North Macedonia," Working Papers 2021-02, National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia.
    8. Paul Eamets & Amaresh K. Tiwari, 2019. "Minimum Wage in Estonia and its Impact on Employment and Wage Distribution," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 16(04), pages 37-43, January.
    9. Madalina Ecaterina POPESCU & Amalia CRISTESCU & Ana-Maria GATEA, 2020. "CHALLENGES FOR THE ROMANIAN SMEs ON THE LABOUR MARKET," Proceedings of the INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 14(1), pages 497-505, November.
    10. Monika Martišková & Marta Kahancová & Jakub Kostolný, 2021. "Negotiating wage (in)equality: changing union strategies in high-wage and low-wage sectors in Czechia and Slovakia," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 27(1), pages 75-96, February.
    11. Grodzicki, Maciej J. & Możdżeń, Michał, 2021. "Central and Eastern European economies in a Goldilocks age: A model of labor market institutional choice," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    12. 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.
    13. 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.

    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. 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).
    2. Biljana Jovanovic & Nikola Naumovski, 2021. "Minimum wage reform and firms’ performance – evidence from North Macedonia," Working Papers 2021-02, National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia.
    3. John Schmitt, 2015. "Explaining the Small Employment Effects of the Minimum Wage in the United States," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(4), pages 547-581, October.
    4. Mayneris, Florian & Poncet, Sandra & Zhang, Tao, 2018. "Improving or disappearing: Firm-level adjustments to minimum wages in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 20-42.
    5. Koch, Andreas & Kirchmann, Andrea & Reiner, Marcel & Scheu, Tobias & Zühlke, Anne & Bonin, Holger, 2020. "Verhaltensmuster von Betrieben und Beschäftigten im Kontext des gesetzlichen Mindestlohns," IZA Research Reports 97, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Schumann, Mathias, 2017. "The effects of minimum wages on firm-financed apprenticeship training," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 163-181.
    7. Sebastian Link, 2019. "The Price and Employment Response of Firms to the Introduction of Minimum Wages," CESifo Working Paper Series 7575, CESifo.
    8. Pestel, Nico & Bonin, Holger & Isphording, Ingo E. & Gregory, Terry & Caliendo, Marco, 2020. "Auswirkungen des gesetzlichen Mindestlohns auf Beschäftigung und Arbeitslosigkeit," IZA Research Reports 95, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Garcia-Louzao, Jose & Tarasonis, Linas, 2023. "Wage and Employment Impact of Minimum Wage: Evidence from Lithuania," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 592-609.
    10. Dale Belman & Paul Wolfson & Kritkorn Nawakitphaitoon, 2015. "Who Is Affected by the Minimum Wage?," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(4), pages 582-621, October.
    11. Winters, John V., 2022. "Minimum Wages and Restaurant Employment for Teens and Adults in Metropolitan and Non-metropolitan Areas," IZA Discussion Papers 15499, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Medrano-Adán, Luis & Salas-Fumás, Vicente, 2023. "Do minimum wages deliver what they promise? Effects of minimum wage on employment, output, and income inequality from occupational choice theory," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 366-383.
    13. John Horton, 2017. "Price Floors and Employer Preferences: Evidence from a Minimum Wage Experiment," CESifo Working Paper Series 6548, CESifo.
    14. Pantea, Smaranda, 2020. "The effect of minimum wage hikes on employment: Evidence from regional panel data from Romania," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 44(3).
    15. Jin, Gang & Zhang, Jiwen & Ye, Yongwei & Yao, Shiqi & Song, Jingxiang, 2024. "Social insurance law and firm markup in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    16. Rizov, Marian & Croucher, Richard & Lange, Thomas, 2016. "The UK national minimum wage's impact on productivity," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 27(4), pages 819-835.
    17. 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.
    18. Koch, Andreas & Kirchmann, Andrea & Reiner, Marcel & Scheu, Tobias & Boockmann, Bernhard & Bonin, Holger, 2018. "Verhaltensmuster von Betrieben und Beschäftigten im Zuge der Einführung des gesetzlichen Mindestlohns," IZA Research Reports 84, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. David W. Berger & Kyle F. Herkenhoff & Simon Mongey, 2022. "Minimum Wages, Efficiency and Welfare," Opportunity and Inclusive Growth Institute Working Papers 058, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
    20. Jonathan Meer & Jeremy West, 2016. "Effects of the Minimum Wage on Employment Dynamics," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 51(2), pages 500-522.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    adjustment channels; firm survey; minimum wage;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • E23 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Production
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:ecb:ecbwps:20182122. 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: Official Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/emieude.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.