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The Minimum Wage in Germany : Institutional Setting and a Systematic Review of Key Findings
Dütsch, Matthias; Ohlert, Clemens; Baumann, Arne (2025): The Minimum Wage in Germany : Institutional Setting and a Systematic Review of Key Findings, in: Bamberg: Otto-Friedrich-Universität, S. 113–151.
Faculty/Chair:
Author:
Publisher Information:
Year of publication:
2025
Pages:
Source/Other editions:
Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik = Journal of economics and statistics, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter GmbH, 2025, Jg. 245, Nr. 1–2, S. 113–151, ISSN: 2366-049X
Year of first publication:
2025
Language:
English
Abstract:
The introduction of a statutory minimum wage in Germany in 2015 aimed at improving the welfare of low-wage workers but was also accompanied by concerns about distortions in Europe’s largest economy. This paper provides a comprehensive survey of results from the evaluation of the German minimum wage by compiling recent descriptive evidence and a systematic literature review on causal effects through 2022. On 1 October 2022, the minimum wage was raised legislatively by 15 percent to 12 euros per hour, which affected approximately 5.8 million employees and 23 percent of companies. The war in Ukraine and the coronavirus pandemic hit minimum wage workers and minimum wage firms harder than the rest of the economy. The minimum wage thus far had the strongest causal effects directly after its introduction. Hourly wages increased, while working hours decreased, resulting in mixed effects on monthly wages. Overall employment fell slightly, with a decline in marginal employment in particular. Companies’ wage costs increased, and as productivity did not change, profits declined.
GND Keywords: ; ;
Deutschland
Mindestlohn
Geschichte 2015-2022
Keywords: ; ; ;
minimum wage
systematic review
evaluation
Germany
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RVK Classification:
Peer Reviewed:
Yes:
International Distribution:
Yes:
Open Access Journal:
Yes:
Type:
Article
Activation date:
August 20, 2025
Permalink
https://fis.uni-bamberg.de/handle/uniba/109553