Effects of Minimum Wages on the Russian Wage Distribution

34 Pages Posted: 13 Feb 2012

See all articles by Anna Lukiyanova

Anna Lukiyanova

National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow)

Date Written: December 13, 2011

Abstract

The available minimum wage literature is mostly based on evidence from developed countries or developing countries of Latin America. Little empirical work has been done on the effects of minimum wages in transition economies, where labour institutions experienced rapid changes and law enforcement differs in many important ways. This paper presents the first empirical evidence on minimum wage effects for Russia, the largest transition economy. I use regional variation in the relative level of the federal minimum wage to identify the impact of the threefold increase in the real value of the minimum wage on the Russian wage distribution between 2005 and 2009. The analysis suggests that the minimum wage can account for the bulk of the decline in the lower tail inequality, particularly for females.

Keywords: minimum wages, wage distribution, transition economies, Russia

JEL Classification: J31, J38, K31, P23

Suggested Citation

Lukiyanova, Anna, Effects of Minimum Wages on the Russian Wage Distribution (December 13, 2011). Higher School of Economics Research Paper No. WP BRP 09/EC/2011, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2002938 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2002938

Anna Lukiyanova (Contact Author)

National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow) ( email )

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Moscow, Moscow 119017
Russia