This paper evaluates the short-run impact of the introduction of a statutory minimum wage in Germany on the hourly wages and monthly earnings of workers targeted by the reform. We first provide detailed descriptive evidence of changes to the wage structure in particular at the bottom of the distribution and distinguish between trends for regularly employed and marginally employed workers. In the causal analysis, we then employ a differential trend adjusted difference-in-differences (DTADD) strategy to identify the extent to which these changes in wages and earnings can be attributed to the minimum wage introduction. We find that the minimum wage introduction can account for hourly wage growth in the order of roughly 6.5 % or \euro0.45/hour and an increase in monthly earnings of 6.6 % or \euro53/month. Despite finding wage growth at the bottom of the distribution, the paper documents widespread non-compliance with the mandated wage floor of \euro8.50/hour.
The present paper analyzes how the statutory minimum wage introduced on January 1, 2015, has affected working hours in Germany up to 2016. The data used come from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), which provides not only contractual working hours but also actual hours worked. Using a difference-in-differences estimation approach, we find a significant and robust reduction in contractual working hours among employees who are subject to social security contributions and earned less than the minimum wage before the introduction. The effect in 2015 is about −5 % and corresponds to a 1.7 hours reduction in average weekly working hours. The effect on actual hours is smaller and estimated less precisely. Extending the analysis until 2016 does not yield significant effects on contractual or actual working hours, while some specifications reject the common trend assumption.
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