The Impact of Minimum Wages on Well-Being: Evidence from a Quasi-Experiment in Germany

Abstract

We analyze well-being effects of minimum wages, using the introduction of the minimum wage in Germany as a quasi-experiment. Based on representative data, a difference-in-differences design compares the development of life, job, and pay satisfaction between employees who are affected by the reform according to their pre-intervention wages and those who have marginally higher wages at outset. We find significantly positive effects on all considered dimensions of well-being. The results hold for at least 1 year after the reform, are more pronounced in East Germany, and hold if those who are not employed anymore after the reform are included.