Does the minimum wage improve the welfare of workers? Evidence from the 2013 minimum wage reform in Thailand

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of the 2013 minimum wage reform in Thailand. The study employs a difference-in-difference (DID) estimation and utilises data drawn from comprehensive socioeconomic household surveys from 2009 to 2019. The findings suggest that the minimum wage reform significantly increased the average daily earnings, the number of paid days of employment, consumption expenditure per capita, and income per capita. However, the minimum wage reform had little impact on poor households. The results withstand different estimation techniques and a set of additional controls.