The unintended effects of a large minimum wage increase on health: Evidence from South Korea.

IF 4.9 2区 医学 Q1 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH
Jung Hyun Kim, Marc Suhrcke, Anja K Leist
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The 2018 minimum wage increase in South Korea was a major policy change that impacted employment and labour productivity, but its effects on health have not yet been explored. The minimum wage was increased by 16.4% in January 2018, marking the largest increase over two decades and a substantial increase by international standards. While this policy change was a promise of the then-new government, the magnitude of its increase was unexpected. Using a difference-in-differences design with data from the 2016 and 2018 Korean Longitudinal Study on Aging, this study focuses on individuals targeted by the minimum wage policy, particularly older adults earning the minimum wage. Unexpectedly, our results indicate a statistically significant decrease in cognitive function within the targeted group, following the minimum wage hike. However, we did not observe any significant changes in self-reported health. Importantly, for the period 2014 and 2016, when the minimum wage increase was relatively modest, we found positive effects on cognitive health and no negative effects on self-reported health, suggesting that negative effects on cognition emerged only with the large minimum wage increase in 2018. These perhaps unexpected findings may be explained by a significant reduction in the working hours of the targeted group.

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来源期刊
Social Science & Medicine
Social Science & Medicine PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH-
CiteScore
9.10
自引率
5.60%
发文量
762
审稿时长
38 days
期刊介绍: Social Science & Medicine provides an international and interdisciplinary forum for the dissemination of social science research on health. We publish original research articles (both empirical and theoretical), reviews, position papers and commentaries on health issues, to inform current research, policy and practice in all areas of common interest to social scientists, health practitioners, and policy makers. The journal publishes material relevant to any aspect of health from a wide range of social science disciplines (anthropology, economics, epidemiology, geography, policy, psychology, and sociology), and material relevant to the social sciences from any of the professions concerned with physical and mental health, health care, clinical practice, and health policy and organization. We encourage material which is of general interest to an international readership.
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