Economic effects of the minimum wage in Germany

Clients: Minimum Wage Commission, Berlin; Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Berlin

Duration: since 2018

At the beginning of 2015, a nationwide statutory minimum wage was introduced in Germany for the first time. This opens up a broad field of analysis for empirical labor market research with regard to the effects of the minimum wage on employment and inter-firm mobility, on working hours, and on general and intra-firm wage developments. In order to evaluate the success of the minimum wage, it is also necessary to analyze the behavioral adjustments of employees and companies as well as the costs of monitoring, law enforcement and company bureaucracy. In addition, the question must be answered to what extent employment patterns and wages of employees in the minimum wage sector are systematically more influenced by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. IZA is investigating these aspects very intensively together with its research partners and has so far provided the studies listed below.

Holger Bonin

Prof. Dr. Holger Bonin

Research Director