Minimum Wages, Labor Market Institutions, and Youth Employment: A Cross-National Analysis
38 Pages Posted: 15 Sep 2003
Date Written: March 2003
Abstract
We estimate the employment effects of changes in national minimum wages using a pooled cross-section time-series data set comprising 17 OECD countries for the period 1975-2000, focusing on the impactof cross-country differences in minimum wage systems and in otherlabor market institutions and policies that may either offset or amplify the effects of minimum wages. The average minimum wage effects we estimate using this sample are consistent with the view that minimum wages cause employment losses among youths. However, the evidence also suggests that the employment effects of minimum wages vary considerably across countries. In particular, disemployment effects of minimum wages appear to be smaller in countries that have subminimum wage provisions for youths. Regarding other labor market policies and institutions, we find that more restrictive labor standards and higher union coverage strengthen the disemployment effects of minimum wages, while employment protection laws and active labor market policies designed to bring unemployed individuals into the work force help to offset these effects. Overall, the disemployment effects of minimum wages are strongest in the countries with the least regulated labor markets.
Keywords: Minimum wages, youth employment, labor market institutions
JEL Classification: J23, J38
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
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