This manual draws on the ILO's comprehensive database containing the principal legal provisions and minimum wage fixing mechanisms in 100 countries. The minimum wage has had a long and turbulent history, and this study sheds light on its intricacies by providing a thorough overview of the institutions and practices in different countries. It outlines the main topics for debate concerning the effects of minimum wages on major social and economic variables such as employment, wage inequality, and poverty. The book considers the various procedures countries use for implementation, including the criteria employed to fix the minimum wage, and how they are linked to specific country objectives. It then measures the efficiency of the minimum wage, and focuses on its impact on employment as a major political issue. For the benefit of non-specialists, the validity of econometric models and their results are examined.

First Published in 1927, A Study on the Minimum Wage contains constructive proposals regarding the essential features of a satisfactory minimum wage system. Based on a comprehensive international study of existing legislation and practice in the 1920s, it brings crucial themes like objects of minimum wage legislation; the living wage; provisions for the worker’s family; relation between the wages of men and women; machinery for fixing minimum wages; methods of enforcement; and the capacity of industry to pay. Rich in archival resources, this book is an essential read for students and researchers of labour history, labour economics, and political economy in general.