Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Minimum Wages and Employment in China

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Minimum Wages in China

Abstract

This chapter uses county-level minimum wage data and a longitudinal household survey from 16 representative provinces to estimate the employment effects of minimum wage changes in China over the period of 2002–2009. In contrast to the mixed results of previous studies using provincial-level data, the authors present evidence that minimum wage changes have significant adverse effects on employment in the Eastern and Central regions of China and result in disemployment for females, young adults, and low-skilled workers.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Allegretto SA, Dube A, Reich M (2011). Do minimum wages really reduce teen employment? Accounting for heterogeneity and selectivity in state panel data. Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society 50, 205–240.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker M, Benjamin D, Stanger S (1999). The highs and lows of the minimum wage effect: A time-series cross-section study of the Canadian law. Journal of Labor Economics 17, 318–350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhorat H, Kanbur R, Mayet N (2013). A note on measuring the depth of minimum wage violation. LABOUR 27, 192–197.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown C (1999). Chapter 32 minimum wages, employment, and the distribution of income, in: Ashenfelter OC, Card D (Eds), Handbook of labor economics, vol. Volume 3, Part B. Elsevier, New York; pp. 2101–2163.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burkhauser RV, Couch KA, Wittenburg DC (2000). A reassessment of the new economics of the minimum wage literature with monthly data from the current population survey. Journal of Labor Economics 18, 653–680.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cai, F, Wang, M (2005) The economic analysis of labor shortage: Evidence from the Pearl River area. Guangdong Social Sciences 2, 5–10 (in Chinese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Campolieti M, Fang T, Gunderson M (2005). How minimum wages affect schooling-employment outcomes in Canada, 1993–1999. Journal of Labor Research 26, 533–545.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campolieti M, Gunderson M, Riddell C (2006). Minimum wage impacts from a prespecified research design: Canada 1981–1997. Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society 45, 195–216.

    Google Scholar 

  • Card D (1992). Do minimum wages reduce employment? A case study of California, 1987–89. Industrial and Labor Relations Review 46, 38–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Card, D, Katz, LF, Krueger, AB (1994) Comment on David Neumark and William Wascher, “Employment effects of minimum and subminimum wages: Panel data on state minimum wage laws”. Industrial and Labor Relations Review 47, 487–497.

    Google Scholar 

  • Card D, Krueger AB (1994). Minimum wage and employment: A case study of the fast-food industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. American Economic Review 84, 772–793.

    Google Scholar 

  • Card D, Krueger AB (1995) Myth and measurement: The new economics of the minimum wage. Princeton University Press: Princeton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Card D, Krueger AB (2000). Minimum wages and employment: A case study of the fast-food industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania: Reply. American Economic Review 90, 1397–1420.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chan A (2001). China’s workers under assault: The exploitation of labor in a globalizing economy. Armonk: ME Sharpe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheung SNS (2004). Another eye on minimum wages, Southern Weekly, June 17 (in Chinese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheung SNS (2010). The lethality of minimum wages, Economic Information Daily, February 24 (in Chinese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooke FL (2005). Hrm, work and employment in china. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham W (2007). Minimum wages and social policy: Lessons from developing countries. Washington, DC: World Bank.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Dickens R, Machin S, Manning A (1999). The effects of minimum wages on employment: Theory and evidence from Britain. Journal of Labor Economics 17, 1–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ding S (2009). An analysis of minimum wage effects on the employment of rural-urban migrant-evidence from the survey of 827 rural-urban migrants in Beijing. China Rural Survey 4, 26–36 (in Chinese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Du Y, Wang M (2008). The implementation of minimum wage system and its effects in china. Journal of Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences 6, 56–62 (in Chinese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Dube A, Lester TW, Reich M (2010). Minimum wage effects across state borders: Estimates using contiguous counties. The Review of Economics and Statistics 92, 945–964.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fang T, Lin C (2015). Minimum wages and employment in China. IZA Journal of Labor Policy 4, 22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frost S (2002). Labour standards in china: The business and investment challenge. Association for Sustainable and Responsible Investment in Asia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gong Q (2009). The impact of minimum wages on welfare of firm and labor in china. Journal of Nanjing University 2, 61–68 (in Chinese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunderson M (2005). Minimum wages in Canada: Theory, evidence and policy, in: Commission FLSR (Ed). Fair Labour Standards Review Commission: Ottawa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamermesh DS (1995). Myth and measurement: The new economics of the minimum wage: Comment. Industrial and Labor Relations Review 48, 835–838.

    Google Scholar 

  • Han Z, Wei Z (2011). Minimum wage standards: Questions and policies. Guangdong Social Sciences 1, 192–200 (in Chinese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Jia P, Zhang S (2013). Spillover effects of minimum wages increase. Statistical Research 30, 37–41 (in Chinese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Keil MW, Robertson D, Symons J (2001). Minimum wages and employment. Claremont Colleges.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khamis M (2013). Does the minimum wage have a higher impact on the informal than on the formal labour market? Evidence from quasi-experiments. Applied Economics 45, 477–495.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lin JY, Cai F, Li Z (2001). State-owned enterprise reform in china. The Chinese University of Hong Kong: Hong Kong.

    Google Scholar 

  • Machin S, Manning A (1994). The effects of minimum wages on wage dispersion and employment: Evidence from the U.K. wages councils. Industrial and Labor Relations Review 47, 319–329.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meer J, West J (2013). Effects of the minimum wage on employment dynamics. NBER Working Paper No. 19262.

    Google Scholar 

  • Metcalf D (2008). Why has the British national minimum wage had little or no impact on employment? Journal of Industrial Relations 50, 489–512.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Bureau of Statistics of China (2013). China labour statistical year book.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neumark D (2001). The employment effects of minimum ages: Evidence from a pre-specified research design. Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society 40, 121–144.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neumark D, Salas JMI, Wascher W (2014). Revisiting the minimum wage—Employment debate: Throwing out the baby with the bathwater? ILR Review 67(3_suppl), 608–648.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neumark D, Wascher W (1992). Employment effects of minimum and subminimum wages: Panel data on state minimum wage laws. Industrial and Labor Relations Review 46, 55–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neumark D, Wascher W (1995). Minimum-wage effects on school and work transitions of teenagers. American Economic Review 85, 244–249.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neumark D, Wascher W (2004) Minimum wages, labor market institutions, and youth employment: A cross-national analysis. ILR Review 57(2), 223–248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neumark, D, Wascher W (2007) Minimum wages and employment. Foundations and Trends in Microeconomics 3, 1–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neumark D, Wascher W (2008) Minimum wages. Cambridge: The MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ni J, Wang G, Yao X (2011). Impact of minimum wages on employment: Evidence from china. The Chinese Economy 44, 18–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ping X (2005). On the industrial relations of private companies. China Reform 4, 61–62 (in Chinese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Rama M (2001). The consequences of doubling the minimum wage: The case of Indonesia. Industrial and Labor Relations Review 54, 864–881.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart MB (2004). The employment effects of the national minimum wage. The Economic Journal 114, C110–C116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Su H (1993). Research on the legislation of minimum wage law of china. Review of Economic Research Z1, 26–36 (in Chinese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Sun S (2006). The economic analysis for the Chinese employment influence to the adjusting the lowest wage policy. Journal of Hubei College of Finance and Economics 18, 13–15 (in Chinese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Sun Z, Shu B (2011). The standard of the minimum wage, and the wages of peasant workers—a case study based on Zhujiang Delta. Management World 8, 45–56 (in Chinese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang J, Gunderson M (2011). Minimum wage impacts in china: Estimates from a prespecified research design, 2000–2007. Contemporary Economic Policy 29, 392–406.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, J Gunderson, M (2012) Minimum wage effects on employment and wages: Dif-in-dif estimates from eastern China. International Journal of Manpower 33, 860–876.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams N (1993). Regional effects of the minimum wage on teenage employment. Applied Economics 25, 1517–1528.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xue Z (2004). The undesirable minimum wage law, 21st Century Business Herald, November 18 (in Chinese); pp. 11–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang T (2006). What is the social background when China implemented its minimum wage law? People’s Daily.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ye M (2005). Discussions on the effects of minimum wages on rural-urban migrant workers and the youth. Theory and Modernization 7, 86–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ye L, Gindling T, & Li S (2015). Compliance with legal minimum wages and overtime pay regulations in China. IZA J Labor Develop 4, 16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Z (2007). Will minimum wage decrease immigrant peasant workers’ employment? Finance and Economics 10, 103–110 (in Chinese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang J, Deng J (2005). On minimum wage system of peasant laborers. Journal of Beijing Agricultural Vocation College 19, 46–49 (in Chinese).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada

    Tony Fang

  2. Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, USA

    Carl Lin

Authors
  1. Tony Fang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Carl Lin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carl Lin .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Zhejiang Universityy, Zhejiang, China

    Shi Li

  2. Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, USA

    Carl Lin

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Fang, T., Lin, C. (2020). Minimum Wages and Employment in China. In: Li, S., Lin, C. (eds) Minimum Wages in China. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2421-9_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2421-9_4

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-15-2420-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-15-2421-9

  • eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation