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The impact of minimum wage on the labour market in Estonia: an empirical analysis

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Abstract

In Estonia, as in several other EU acceding countries, minimum wage has been on an upward trend and in the coming years it will expectedly be raised faster than the average wage. Despite its rapid increase, the impact of the minimum wage on Estonian labour market has not been analysed. The current paper aims to fill this gap. We estimate the effect of the minimum wage on employment and wages in Estonia during the period of 1995-2000, using micro-data from Estonian Labour Force Surveys. The estimation results indicate that a minimum wage increase leads to employment reduction for the group of workers who are directly affected by this change, ie those whose wages have to be raised as a result. Additional negative effect of raising the minimum wage is that the rate of compliance with this regulation diminishes as a result, thereby enlarging the share of workers whose salaries remain below the legally set minimum.

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  • Marit Hinnosaar & Tairi Room, 2003. "The impact of minimum wage on the labour market in Estonia: an empirical analysis," Bank of Estonia Working Papers 2003-8, Bank of Estonia, revised 12 Oct 2003.
    • Handle: RePEc:eea:boewps:wp2003-08
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    Cited by:

    1. Jaanika Meriküll & Maryna Tverdostup, 2020. "The Gap That Survived The Transition: The Gender Wage Gap Over Three Decades In Estonia," University of Tartu - Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Working Paper Series 127, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Tartu (Estonia).
    2. Vassil, Kristjan & Eamets, Raul & Mõtsmees, Pille, 2014. "Socio-demographic Model of Gender Gap in Expected and Actual Wages in Estonia," IZA Discussion Papers 8604, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Nababan, Tongam Sihol, 2017. "The Effects of Number of Industrial Enterprises, Value of Input, Value of Output, And Regional Minimum Wage on Labor Demand in Indonesia : An Empirical Study on Micro Industrial Enterprises," MPRA Paper 79680, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Mihails Hazans, 2007. "Looking for the workforce: the elderly, discouraged workers, minorities, and students in the Baltic labour markets," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 34(4), pages 319-349, September.
    5. Jaan Masso & Kerly Krillo, 2010. "Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania: Minimum Wages in a Context of Migration and Labour Shortages," Chapters, in: Daniel Vaughan-Whitehead (ed.), The Minimum Wage Revisited in the Enlarged EU, chapter 4, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    6. Biljana Jovanovic & Nikola Naumovski, 2021. "Minimum wage reform and firms’ performance – evidence from North Macedonia," Working Papers 2021-02, National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia.
    7. Simona Ferraro & Jaanika Meriküll & Karsten Staehr, 2018. "Minimum wages and the wage distribution in Estonia," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(49), pages 5253-5268, October.
    8. Asad Alam & Mamta Murthi & Ruslan Yemtsov & Edmundo Murrugarra & Nora Dudwick & Ellen Hamilton & Erwin Tiongson, 2005. "Growth, Poverty and Inequality : Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 7287.
    9. Jan J. Rutkowski & Stefano Scarpetta, 2005. "Enhancing Job Opportunities : Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 7408.
    10. World Bank, 2007. "Bulgaria - Accelerating Bulgaria's Convergence : Volume 2. The Challenge of Rasing Productivity," World Bank Publications - Reports 7876, The World Bank Group.
    11. Katalin Bodnár & Ludmila Fadejeva & Stefania Iordache & Liina Malk & Desislava Paskaleva & Jurga Pesliakaitė & Nataša Todorović Jemec & Peter Tóth & Robert Wyszyński, 2018. "How do firms adjust to rises in the minimum wage? Survey evidence from Central and Eastern Europe," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 7(1), pages 1-30, December.
    12. Stefan Petranov, 2017. "Negotiation of Social Security Floors: Problems and Possible Solutions," Economic Studies journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 5, pages 3-29.
    13. Karolina GORAUS‐TAŃSKA & Piotr LEWANDOWSKI, 2019. "Minimum wage violation in central and eastern Europe," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 158(2), pages 297-336, June.
    14. Tiiu Paas & Marit Hinnosaar & Jaan Masso & Orsolya Szirko, 2004. "Social Protection Systems In The Baltic States," University of Tartu - Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Working Paper Series 26, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Tartu (Estonia).
    15. Meriküll, Jaanika & Tverdostup, Maryna, 2023. "The gap that survived the transition: The gender wage gap in Estonia over three decades," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 47(3).
    16. Paulina Broniatowska & Aleksandra Majchrowska & Zbigniew ¯ó³kiewski, 2015. "Does minimum wage reduce youth employment on regional labour markets in Poland?," Lodz Economics Working Papers 1/2015, University of Lodz, Faculty of Economics and Sociology.
    17. Marit Hinnosaar, 2004. "Estonian labor market institutions within a general equilibrium framework," Bank of Estonia Working Papers 2004-5, Bank of Estonia, revised 13 Oct 2004.
    18. Jaan Masso & K. Espenberg & Anu Masso & I. Mierina & Kaia Philips, 2013. "GINI Country Report: Growing Inequalities and their Impacts in the Baltic States Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania," GINI Country Reports baltics, AIAS, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies.
    19. Marit Hinnosaar, 2004. "The Impact Of Benefit And Tax Reforms On Estonian Labor Market In A General Equilibrium Framework," University of Tartu - Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Working Paper Series 31, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Tartu (Estonia).

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