Do high minimum wages harm the progression of minimum wage workers? Evidence from the United Kingdom

Publication type

Journal Article

Authors

Publication date

January 28, 2025

Summary:

Using panel data from the United Kingdom between 2009 and 2019, we study how substantial increases in the real and relative value of the minimum wage impacted on the wage progression of covered workers. We find that progression out of minimum wage jobs is frequent, although most workers remain low paid. Using hazard rate models, we find a short-lived negative effect on progression associated with the introduction of the National Living Wage in 2016. In subsequent years, we find no evidence of significant adverse effects. We find similar results when we model wage growth directly.

Published in

Industrial Relations

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1111/irel.12389

ISSN

00198676

Subjects

Link

- https://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/research/projects/an-investigation-of-the-impact-of-the-nlw-on-earnings-with-a-focus-on-pay-differentials

Notes

Online Early

Open Access

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2025 The Author(s). Industrial Relations published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Regents of the University of California (RUC).

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