IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/izaldv/v4y2015i1p1-2510.1186-s40175-015-0036-4.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of minimum wages on informal and formal labor market outcomes: evidence from Indonesia

Author

Listed:
  • Maike Hohberg
  • Jann Lay

Abstract

This paper studies the effects of minimum wages on informal and formal sector wages and employment in Indonesia between 1997 and 2007. Applying fixed-effects methods, the estimates suggest that minimum wages have a significant positive effect on formal sector wages, while there are no spillover effects on informal workers. Regarding employment, we find no statistically significant negative effects of minimum wages on the probability of being formally employed. These findings suggest that employers use adjustment channels other than employment or that effects such as a demand stimulus on a local level outweigh the possible negative employment effects. Jel codes: J08, J46 Copyright Hohberg and Lay. 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Maike Hohberg & Jann Lay, 2015. "The impact of minimum wages on informal and formal labor market outcomes: evidence from Indonesia," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-25, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:izaldv:v:4:y:2015:i:1:p:1-25:10.1186/s40175-015-0036-4
    DOI: 10.1186/s40175-015-0036-4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1186/s40175-015-0036-4
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1186/s40175-015-0036-4?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dinkelman, Taryn & Ranchhod, Vimal, 2012. "Evidence on the impact of minimum wage laws in an informal sector: Domestic workers in South Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(1), pages 27-45.
    2. Margherita Comola & Luiz De Mello, 2011. "How Does Decentralized Minimum Wage Setting Affect Employment And Informality? The Case Of Indonesia," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 57, pages 79-99, May.
    3. Vivi Alatas & Lisa A. Cameron, 2008. "The Impact of Minimum Wages on Employment in a Low-Income Country: A Quasi-Natural Experiment in Indonesia," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 61(2), pages 201-223, January.
    4. Daron Acemoglu & Jorn-Steffen Pischke, 1999. "The Structure of Wages and Investment in General Training," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 107(3), pages 539-572, June.
    5. Gindling, T.H. & Terrell, Katherine, 2005. "The effect of minimum wages on actual wages in formal and informal sectors in Costa Rica," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(11), pages 1905-1921, November.
    6. Haroon Bhorat & Ravi Kanbur & Natasha Mayet, 2013. "The impact of sectoral minimum wage laws on employment, wages, and hours of work in South Africa," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 2(1), pages 1-27, December.
    7. Pablo Fajnzylber, 2001. "Minimum Wage Effects Throughout the Wage Distribution: Evidence from Brazil's Formal and Informal Sectors," Anais do XXIX Encontro Nacional de Economia [Proceedings of the 29th Brazilian Economics Meeting] 098, ANPEC - Associação Nacional dos Centros de Pós-Graduação em Economia [Brazilian Association of Graduate Programs in Economics].
    8. Edward M. Gramlich, 1976. "Impact of Minimum Wages on Other Wages, Employment, and Family Incomes," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 7(2), pages 409-462.
    9. Barry T. Hirsch & Bruce E. Kaufman & Tetyana Zelenska, 2015. "Minimum Wage Channels of Adjustment," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2), pages 199-239, April.
    10. Mincer, Jacob, 1976. "Unemployment Effects of Minimum Wages," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 84(4), pages 87-104, August.
    11. Asep Suryahadi & Wenefrida Widyanti & Daniel Perwira & Sudarno Sumarto, 2003. "Minimum Wage Policy And Its Impact On Employment In The Urban Formal Sector," Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(1), pages 29-50.
    12. William Maloney & Jairo Mendez, 2004. "Measuring the Impact of Minimum Wages. Evidence from Latin America," NBER Chapters, in: Law and Employment: Lessons from Latin America and the Caribbean, pages 109-130, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Boyce, Christopher J., 2010. "Understanding fixed effects in human well-being," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 1-16, February.
    14. Gindling, T.H. & Terrell, Katherine, 2007. "The effects of multiple minimum wages throughout the labor market: The case of Costa Rica," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 485-511, June.
    15. Del Carpio, Ximena & Nguyen, Ha & Wang, Liang Choon, 2012. "Does the minimum wage affect employment ? evidence from the manufacturing sector in Indonesia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6147, The World Bank.
    16. Chun , Natalie & Khor, Niny, 2010. "Minimum Wages and Changing Wage Inequality in Indonesia," ADB Economics Working Paper Series 196, Asian Development Bank.
    17. World Bank, 2010. "Indonesia Jobs Report," World Bank Publications - Reports 27901, The World Bank Group.
    18. John Schmitt, 2013. "Why Does the Minimum Wage Have No Discernible Effect on Employment?," CEPR Reports and Issue Briefs 2013-04, Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR).
    19. Alaniz, Enrique & Gindling, T.H. & Terrell, Katherine, 2011. "The impact of minimum wages on wages, work and poverty in Nicaragua," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(S1), pages 45-59.
    20. Dickens, Richard & Machin, Stephen & Manning, Alan, 1999. "The Effects of Minimum Wages on Employment: Theory and Evidence from Britain," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 17(1), pages 1-22, January.
    21. Welch, Finis, 1974. "Minimum Wage Legislation in the United States," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 12(3), pages 285-318, September.
    22. Pablo Fajnzylber, 2001. "Minimum wage effects throughout the wage distribution: evidence from Brazil’s formal and informal sectors," Textos para Discussão Cedeplar-UFMG td151, Cedeplar, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais.
    23. Lemos, Sara, 2009. "Minimum wage effects in a developing country," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 224-237, April.
    24. Magruder, Jeremy R., 2013. "Can minimum wages cause a big push? Evidence from Indonesia," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(1), pages 48-62.
    25. David Neumark & DMark Schweitzer & DaWilliam Wascher, 2004. "Minimum Wage Effects throughout the Wage Distribution," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 39(2).
    26. Cahuc, Pierre & Michel, Philippe, 1996. "Minimum wage unemployment and growth," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(7), pages 1463-1482, August.
    27. Patricia Jones, 1997. "The impact of minimum wage legislation in developing countries where coverage is incomplete," Economics Series Working Papers WPS/1998-02, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    28. Catherine SAGET, 2008. "Fixing minimum wage levels in developing countries: Common failures and remedies," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 147(1), pages 25-42, March.
    29. Martín Rama, 2001. "The Consequences of Doubling the Minimum Wage: The Case of Indonesia," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 54(4), pages 864-881, July.
    30. Gary Chamberlain, 1980. "Analysis of Covariance with Qualitative Data," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 47(1), pages 225-238.
    31. Tom Hertz, 2005. "The Effect of Minimum Wages on the Employment and Earnings of South Africa's Domestic Service Workers," Upjohn Working Papers 05-120, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    32. Soderbom, Mans & Teal, Francis & Wambugu, Anthony, 2005. "Unobserved heterogeneity and the relation between earnings and firm size: evidence from two developing countries," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 153-159, May.
    33. Shapiro, Carl & Stiglitz, Joseph E, 1984. "Equilibrium Unemployment as a Worker Discipline Device," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(3), pages 433-444, June.
    34. Wendy Cunningham, 2007. "Minimum Wages and Social Policy : Lessons from Developing Countries," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6760, December.
    35. Stephen Machin & Alan Manning, 1994. "The Effects of Minimum Wages on Wage Dispersion and Employment: Evidence from the U.K. Wages Councils," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 47(2), pages 319-329, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Davidescu, Adriana Anamaria & Schneider, Friedrich, 2017. "Nature of the Relationship between Minimum Wage and the Shadow Economy Size: An Empirical Analysis for the Case of Romania," IZA Discussion Papers 11247, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Maike Hohberg & Francesco Donat & Giampiero Marra & Thomas Kneib, 2021. "Beyond unidimensional poverty analysis using distributional copula models for mixed ordered‐continuous outcomes," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series C, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 70(5), pages 1365-1390, November.
    3. Ariani & Devanto Shasta Pratomo & Marlina Ekawaty & David Kaluge, 2024. "Absorption of Formal and Informal Sector Workers through the Minimum Wage: Studies in Indonesia," Economic Studies journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 3, pages 128-143.
    4. Mr. Christopher S Adam & Mr. Edward F Buffie, 2020. "The Minimum Wage Puzzle in Less Developed Countries: Reconciling Theory and Evidence," IMF Working Papers 2020/023, International Monetary Fund.
    5. Kanbur, Ravi & Chau, Nancy H & Soundararajan, Vidhya, 2022. "Employer Power and Employment in Developing Countries," CEPR Discussion Papers 17548, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    6. Pandelis Mitsis, 2019. "The Impact of the Minimum Wage on Wages and Work in Cyprus," Cyprus Economic Policy Review, University of Cyprus, Economics Research Centre, vol. 13(2), pages 72-101, December.
    7. Burak Kağan Demirtaş, 2022. "Spillover effects of the minimum wage introduction based on horizontal fairness: A lab experiment," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(8), pages 3370-3385, December.
    8. Pérez Pérez, Jorge, 2020. "The minimum wage in formal and informal sectors: Evidence from an inflation shock," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    9. Dyah Savitri Pritadrajati, 2021. "Determinants Of School Enrolment In Indonesia: The Role Of Minimum Wage," Bulletin of Monetary Economics and Banking, Bank Indonesia, vol. 24(2), pages 181-204, June.
    10. Neumark, David & Munguía Corella, Luis Felipe, 2021. "Do minimum wages reduce employment in developing countries? A survey and exploration of conflicting evidence," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    11. Gudibande, Rohan Ravindra & Jacob, Arun, 2020. "Minimum wages for domestic workers: impact evaluation of the Indian experience," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Haroon Bhorat & Ravi Kanbur & Benjamin Stanwix, 2017. "Minimum Wages in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Primer," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 32(1), pages 21-74.
    2. Haroon Bhorat & Tara Caetano & Benjamin Jourdan & Ravi Kanbur & Christopher Rooney & Benjamin Stanwix & Ingrid Woolard, 2016. "Investigating the Feasibility of a National Minimum Wage for South Africa," Working Papers 201601, University of Cape Town, Development Policy Research Unit.
    3. Neumark, David & Munguía Corella, Luis Felipe, 2021. "Do minimum wages reduce employment in developing countries? A survey and exploration of conflicting evidence," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    4. World Bank, 2013. "Minimum Wage Policy : Lessons with a Focus on the ASEAN Region," World Bank Publications - Reports 16687, The World Bank Group.
    5. Katzkowicz, Sharon & Pedetti, Gabriela & Querejeta, Martina & Bergolo, Marcelo, 2021. "Low-skilled workers and the effects of minimum wage in a developing country: Evidence based on a density-discontinuity approach," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    6. Marlies Piek & Dieter von Fintel, 2020. "Sectoral minimum wages in South Africa: Disemployment by firm size and trade exposure," Development Southern Africa, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(3), pages 462-482, May.
    7. Mr. Christopher S Adam & Mr. Edward F Buffie, 2020. "The Minimum Wage Puzzle in Less Developed Countries: Reconciling Theory and Evidence," IMF Working Papers 2020/023, International Monetary Fund.
    8. Groisman, Fernando & Boffi, Santiago & Calero, Analía & Cuba, María Soledad & Liniado, Julia & Sconfienza, María Eugenia & Vergara Parra, Albano, 2015. "Social protection to the informal sector: the role of minimum wage and income transfer policies," MPRA Paper 72822, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Uma Rani, 2017. "Minimum Wage Policies and Their Effects in Developing Countries: A Comparative Perspective," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 60(1), pages 33-55, March.
    10. Ham, Andrés, 2018. "The Consequences of Legal Minimum Wages in Honduras," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 135-157.
    11. Patrick Belser & Uma Rani, 2015. "Minimum wages and inequality," Chapters, in: Janine Berg (ed.), Labour Markets, Institutions and Inequality, chapter 5, pages 123-146, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    12. Meghan J. Millea & Jon P. Rezek & Brian Shoup & Joshua Pitts, 2017. "Minimum Wages in a Segmented Labor Market: Evidence from South Africa," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 335-359, September.
    13. Pandelis Mitsis, 2019. "The Impact of the Minimum Wage on Wages and Work in Cyprus," Cyprus Economic Policy Review, University of Cyprus, Economics Research Centre, vol. 13(2), pages 72-101, December.
    14. Pérez Pérez, Jorge, 2020. "The minimum wage in formal and informal sectors: Evidence from an inflation shock," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    15. Carla Canelas, 2014. "Minimum Wage and Informality in Ecuador," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2014-006, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    16. Ximena V. del Carpio & Julián Messina & Anna Sanz‐de‐Galdeano, 2019. "Minimum Wage: Does it Improve Welfare in Thailand?," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 65(2), pages 358-382, June.
    17. Sharon Katzkowicz & Gabriela Pedetti & Martina Querejeta & Marcelo Bérgolo, 2019. "Low-Skilled Workers and the Effects of Minimum Wage: New Evidence Based on a Density-Discontinuity Approach," Working Papers PMMA 2019-10, PEP-PMMA.
    18. Katherine Terrell & Rita K. Almeida, 2008. "Minimum Wages in Developing Countries : Helping or Hurting Workers?," World Bank Publications - Reports 11742, The World Bank Group.
    19. Selin Pelek, 2015. "The Employment Effect of the Minimum Wage: An Empirical Analysis From Turkey," Ekonomi-tek - International Economics Journal, Turkish Economic Association, vol. 4(1), pages 49-68, January.
    20. Wong, Sara A., 2019. "Minimum wage impacts on wages and hours worked of low-income workers in Ecuador," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 77-99.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:izaldv:v:4:y:2015:i:1:p:1-25:10.1186/s40175-015-0036-4. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.