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Research: Labour Markets - Minimum Wage  text only  cep home page  about the cep  contact us  research   -centre and     programme     directors programmes:   -Education & Skills   -Globalisation   -Labour Markets   -Macro Programme   -Productivity &    Innovation   -Wellbeing   -CEE   -EDS Innovation    Research    Programme   -Explaining    Productivity & Growth    in Europe, America    & Asia   -Manpower Human    Resources Lab   -Mental Health   -Future of the Unions   -PIEP   -Skills for All  publications  events & calendar  staff directory  support & services  news & highlights   On the Impact of the British National Minimum Wage on Pay and Employment A century has passed since the first call for a British national minimum wage (NMW). That remarkable Fabian tract discussed wage setting, coverage, monopsony, international labour standards, inspection and compliance and the interaction between the NMW and the social security system. The NMW was finally introduced in 1999. It has raised the real and relative pay of low wage workers, narrowed the gender pay gap and now covers around 1-worker-in-10. The consequences for employment have been extensively analysed using information on individuals, areas and firms. There is little or no evidence of any employment effects. The reasons for this include: an impact on hours rather than workers; employer wage setting and labour market frictions; offsets via the tax credit system and incomplete compliance. Key words: national minimum wage, employment, compliance. Journal of Economic Literature classification: J31, J38, J42. Paper No' WP1481c: Full paper in Adobe PDF Format Zipped file of paper in MS Word Format

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