How does employment respond to minimum wage adjustment in China?

Wye, Chung-Khain and Bahri, Elya Nabila Abdul (2021) How does employment respond to minimum wage adjustment in China? The Economic and Labour Relations Review, 32 (1). pp. 90-114. ISSN 1035-3046, DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/1035304620970838.

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Abstract

Under what circumstances can minimum wages increase without adverse effects on employment levels? In 31 Chinese provinces between 2004 and 2015, the employment effect of a minimum wage depended on the minimum wage level, foreign direct investment, per capita gross domestic product and labour productivity. A minimum wage increase reduced hiring as foreign direct investment inflow rose, regardless of the amount of investment. Any positive employment effect of a minimum wage increase was mitigated by per capita gross domestic product growth, except when per capita gross domestic product was above the average. Above-average labour productivity enhancement significantly mitigated the adverse employment effect of the minimum wage. Employers responded to a rising minimum wage by increasing hiring when the geometric growth rates of the minimum wage and foreign direct investment for a particular province within a period of time were above the overall average across provinces. However, they scrutinised both annual and overall economic growth within a time period when making hiring decisions in the face of minimum wage adjustments. An inverted U-shape relationship between minimum wages and employment suggest a maximum threshold value for the minimum wage. Thus, government policy measures should foster short-term and long-term economic growth, to facilitate employment creation when minimum wages increase. JEL Codes: J38, J21, F16, O40

Item Type: Article
Funders: UNSPECIFIED
Uncontrolled Keywords: China; Economic growth; Employment; Foreign direct investment; Minimum wage; Productivity
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions
H Social Sciences > HF Commerce > Business
Divisions: Faculty of Business and Economics > Department of Economics and Applied Statistics
Depositing User: Ms Zaharah Ramly
Date Deposited: 29 Apr 2022 03:07
Last Modified: 29 Apr 2022 03:07
URI: http://eprints.um.edu.my/id/eprint/26912

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