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Can minimum wages effectively reduce poverty under low compliance? A case study from the agricultural sector in South Africa

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  • Bassier, Ihsaan
  • Ranchhod, Vimal

Abstract

What were the effects of a 52 per cent increase in the minimum wage in the agricultural sector in South Africa in 2013? We estimate the short run effects of this policy change on the income, employment, and poverty rate of farmworkers, using individual-level panel data from the Quarterly Labour Force Surveys (QLFS). Before the implementation date, 90 per cent of farmworkers were paid below the new minimum wage level. We find that the wage gain of farmworkers is strongly quadratically related to pre-implementation wages, suggesting lower compliance as the gap between the minimum and the pre-implementation wage increases. We estimate that farmworkers received a median wage increase of 9 per cent as a result of the policy, and we find no evidence of job losses. Overall, farmworkers were 7 per cent less likely to have household income per person below the poverty line. One possible explanation for these outcomes is that endogenous compliance may mitigate against unemployment effects. While the minimum wage literature is large, our paper adds to the small subset of this literature on large increases, partial compliance, and poverty effects.

Suggested Citation

  • Bassier, Ihsaan & Ranchhod, Vimal, 2024. "Can minimum wages effectively reduce poverty under low compliance? A case study from the agricultural sector in South Africa," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 122711, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
  • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:122711
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/122711/
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Card, David & Krueger, Alan B, 1994. "Minimum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast-Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(4), pages 772-793, September.
    2. 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.
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    4. Arindrajit Dube, 2019. "Minimum Wages and the Distribution of Family Incomes," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(4), pages 268-304, October.
    5. 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.
    6. Haroon BHORAT & Ravi KANBUR & Natasha MAYET, 2012. "Minimum wage violation in South Africa," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 151(3), pages 277-287, September.
    7. T. H. Gindling, 2018. "Does increasing the minimum wage reduce poverty in developing countries?," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 1-10, November.
    8. Catherine SAGET, 2001. "Poverty reduction and decent work in developing countries: Do minimum wages help?," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 140(3), pages 237-269, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Manuela A. de Paz-Báñez & Celia Sánchez-López & María José Asensio-Coto, 2024. "Effects of the Minimum Wage (MW) on Income Inequality: Systematic Review and Analysis of the Spanish Case," Economies, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-39, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    minimum wages; South Africa; poverty;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • J08 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics Policies

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