SMU SOE Seminar (April 19, 2023): Minimum Wage and Self-employed Business Owners: Evidence from South Korea

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ABSTRACT This study examines the influences of minimum wage on self-employment exits, using recent changes in the minimum wage level in South Korea. Using the cross-industry variation on the impact of the minimum wage—the proportion of workers whose wages are below the minimum wage in the upcoming year—combined with individual longitudinal data, I estimate the model of self-employment exits. Overall, the estimates show that the minimum wage hike has no significant impact on self-employed workers. However, it increases the likelihood of the business closing for the self-employed who hire employees. The results imply that a ten percent increase in the minimum wage raises the exit probability by 2.6 percentage points, which is 30.9% of the average exit rate for those with employees. Moreover, the exits are significantly associated with the transition to non-employment. Click here to view the CV.
		PRESENTER Taehyun Ahn Sogang University
		RESEARCH FIELDS Labor Economics Public Economics Empirical Microeconomics
		DATE: 19 April 2023 (Wednesday)
		TIME: 4pm - 5.30pm
		VENUE: Meeting Room 5.1, Level 5 School of Economics Singapore Management University 90 Stamford Road Singapore 178903