Feasibility and impact of establishing a Minimum City Salary

During the feasibility and impact of the establishment of a minimum city wage at the Catalan Association of Economists, AQR-Lab director Jordi Suriñach participated in the presentation of the study on the "impact of the adoption of a minimum wage at the local level. International Evidence "developed by AQR-lab of applied economics at the University of Barcelona.

One of the main conclusions of the study - which has compared several searches internationally - is that the introduction of a minimum wage does not destroy employment, in spite of the various voices accredited that until a few years ago they assured it. Among the various positive effects of the minimum wage, the authors emphasize an increase in the purchasing power of the workers in the lower salary bands, which generates more economic activity; And a decline in poverty rates and inequality, which also results in less reliance on social assistance and benefits. However, there is an increase in prices in some sectors.

Given that the studies on which international research is based have made territories with economies different from the reality of the WBA and the Catalan economy, the study also recommends an ex-ante evaluation of the characteristics (salary structure, sectoral specialization, level of Training of workers, etc.) of the WBA that would affect the application of the minimum wage. It also suggests a whole set of issues that should be considered before implementing the measure (such as salary level, timing of the introduction of the measure, whether to exclude certain groups or sectors, adoption mechanisms, etc).