最低工资增长对主观幸福感的影响：来自日本的证据（英）

DPRIETI Discussion Paper Series 21-E-075The Impact of the Minimum Wage Increase on Subjective Wellbeing: Evidence from JapanSATO, KazumaTakushoku UniversityThe Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industryhttps://www.rieti.go.jp/en/1 RIETI Discussion Paper Series 21-E-075 August 2021 The impact of the minimum wage increase on subjective wellbeing: Evidence from Japan 1 Kazuma Sato Takushoku University Abstract This study examines the association between subjective wellbeing and minimum wage using the Japan Panel Survey of Consumers (JPSC). JPSC investigates Japanese young and middle-aged women with a relatively high proportion of low-paid, non-regular workers. Based on fixed-effects models, the estimated results revealed no significant effect of minimum wage when using the continuous variable of life satisfaction as the dependent variable. However, we found a significant positive association between the minimum wage and life satisfaction when a dummy variable indicating whether the respondent had a high life satisfaction was used as the independent variable. This positive association was robust against estimation methods and the change of the definition of the treatment group that was affected by the minimum wage and the control group that was not affected by the minimum wage but worked at wage levels near the minimum wage. The estimated results of this study are partially consistent with previous studies examining the effect of introducing the minimum wage in Germany. Keywords: minimum wage, subjective wellbeing, fixed-effects model JEL classification: I31, J31 The RIETI Discussion Paper Series aims at widely disseminating research results in the form of professional papers, with the goal of stimulating lively discussion. The views expressed in the papers are solely those of the author(s), and neither represent those of the organization(s) to which the author(s) belong(s) nor the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry. 1This study is conducted as a part of the Project“Research on Working-style Reform, Health and Productivity Management” undertaken at the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI). This study utilizes the micro data of the Japan Panel Survey of Consumers (JPSC), which is conducted by the Panel Data Research Center at Keio University. The author is grateful for helpful comments and suggestions provided by Daigo Nakata, Kotaro Tsuru, Makoto Yano, Masayuki Morikawa, Sagiri Kitao and participants at the RIETI discussion paper seminar. 2 1. Introduction A minimum wage is instituted in many countries to protect workers’ basic needs. However, excessively raising the minimum wage level could reduce employment. Many empirical analyses examine the negative effect of minimum wage on employment, particularly in the US, and provide mixed results (Neumark & Wascher, 2007; Neumark et al., 2014 for a review). For example, several studies demonstrate a ne