Policymakers Should Carefully Consider Minimum Wages
Channel: World Bank Group Jobs
Date: 19/09/2012

Haroon Bhorat, Professor of Economics at the University of Cape Town, says policymakers should carefully consider introducing minimum wages to economies. 

The effects of minimum wages are complicated, and government officials should consider the need to protect vulnerable workers and the economy as a whole. These considerations include what level to set the minimum wage at, how it will affect other markets, and if it should be phased in over time.

Once the minimum wage is introduced, policymakers should use data to assess how well it is working and if it should be adjusted marginally over a long period of time to minimize economic shocks.