Dube appointed by UK Chancellor of the Exchequer to Review Evidence on the Impacts of Minimum Wage

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Arindrajit Dube, professor of economics, has been appointed by the U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Phillip Hammond to undertake a review of the international evidence on the impacts of minimum wages. Hammond made the announcement as part of his 2019 Spring Statement to Parliament on March 13.

Dube, an internationally-recognized expert on the economics of minimum and fair wages, has been asked to review the international evidence on the impacts of minimum wages, with a particular focus on innovative and ambitious minimum wage models, and to consider the role of individual labor market characteristics in determining such effects. He will consider the implications for U.K. minimum wage policy, in particular assessing whether the employment effects of minimum wages in the U.K. could be different to other countries, given differences in labor market characteristics.

Dube will be asked to consider the implications for future minimum wage policy in the U.K., based on targets set by the  government in the 2018 budget, to end low pay in the U.K. His review will consider the latest evidence on minimum wages internationally, the potential impacts on employment, productivity and economic growth, the ability of the labor market to absorb future minimum wages rises and the wider macroeconomic context.

His conclusions, scheduled to be to be presented in the fall, will inform work already underway in HM Treasury and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.