A column describes how the implementation of the statutory minimum wage in 2015 has raised incomes in the lower part of the wage distribution without affecting employment of low-wage workers. Against the background of the evidence provided, the authors conclude that the recently agreed increase in the minimum wage to €9.35 by 2020 seems justifiable. Another report from the Hans Böckler Foundation indicates that the minimum wage introduction has tended to stimulate economic growth. This was mainly due to the higher wages of the minimum wage beneficiaries and a spill-over effect on adjacent wage groups. It benefitted in particular those whose low savings rate led to a strong increase in real private consumption.
Read the Column: in English … The HBS-report: in English …
For more information, please contact the editor Jan Cremers or Sanne van der Gaag, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) cbn-aias@uva.nl or the Head of communications at the ETUI, Willy De Backer wdebacker@etui.org © ETUI