Research Activities
Research Projects 2024
Examining minimum wage impacts: Effects of market concentration
Outline
Governments around the world are increasing the minimum wages. In South Africa (SA), there is a concern that minimum wages may increase the already high unemployment rates. Yet there is little consensus about how the minimum wages affect the economy. In this research, we ask: Do employment impacts of minimum wages change by labor market concentration as a standard theory predicts? We implement the research with a collaborative empirical work with economists in SA. We compute labor market concentration with matched employer-employee (MEE) tax data of South African Revenue Services (SARS). We utilize the firm level variations in the number of affected workers by sectoral minimum wages to estimate impacts of employment. We compare the impacts by concentration in the local labor markets (districts). In developing country studies of minimum wages, market concentration has not been considered and MEE data are rarely used.
Period
April 2023 - March 2026
Members
| Role | Member |
|---|---|
| [ Organizer ] | Ito, Seiro |
| [ Co-researcher ] | Dieter von Fintel(Stellenbosch University Professor) |
*Affiliations are as of April 2024.
Expected Outcome
- Paper Submission to Peer-Reviewed Journal