In many countries, minimum wage policies allow employers to pay young workers less than adults, and the UK is now debating how fast to phase out its lower youth minima. But do employers actually use the room that age-specific minimum wages give them? This column uses the introduction of the UK National Living Wage, which raised the minimum wage only for workers aged 25 and over, to show that employers in a low-wage sector also raised the pay of younger colleagues. These spillovers happen inside firms, within job roles, and seem to be driven by pay equity norms.

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29 October 2026

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Vox EU

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https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/company-wage-policy-low-wage-labour-market

This Blog is published under the centre's Labour programme.