Minimum Wage in China

Qianqian Yang and Nobuaki Hamaguchi
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Qianqian Yang: Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University, JAPAN
Nobuaki Hamaguchi: Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration, Kobe University, JAPAN

No DP2025-10, Discussion Paper Series from Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University

Abstract: This paper reviews the institutional background of China's minimum wage system, shaped by four key labor law regulations, with a focus on its defining feature of regional heterogeneity. We compile a unique and comprehensive database on minimum wage standards across all 31 provinces from 1995 to 2022, incorporating both nominal and real wage levels as well as their geographic distribution. The dataset and our analysis provide a valuable foundation for understanding the potential role of minimum wage policy in shaping labor market outcomes and regional economic dynamics in the context of a modernizing and developing economy.

Keywords: Minimum Wage; China; Regional heterogeneity; Minimum wage database (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C81 J30 J38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 13 pages
Date: 2025-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lma
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