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

• Publication Type: Journal Article
• Publication date: 28 January 2025
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/irel.12389
• ISSN: 00198676

Authors

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.

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).