Impact of minimum wage legislation on gender differentials in sticky wages: evidence from Korea

초록

This study adds to a growing body of studies on gender inequality, centred on the role of the minimum wage. The unprecedented increases of the minimum wage in Korea during the 2010s allow us to directly observe the social and economic impacts of these changes. This study explores the minimum wage role in mitigating the gender gap in sticky wages where firm performance worsened. Using a sample of 7,514 firm-year observations between 2010 and 2020 in the Korean KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets, we find that men’s wage stickiness in times of poor performance was greater than that of women, and the minimum wage reduces the gap in sticky wages between genders, alleviating gender inequality problems in wage determination. © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

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