Objectives. We measured key features of local and state wage theft laws in the 40 largest US cities to assess the added value of local legislation and to create scientific legal data for use in evaluating the health impact of wage theft laws. Methods. We adapted standard policy surveillance methods to collect and code local and state minimum wage and nonpayment of wages theft laws from January 1, 2010, to April 15, 2023. Results. Compared with state laws, local wage theft legislation was proportionally more likely to contain features that facilitated worker complaints and to provide flexible enforcement tools. Only 4 of the 40 largest cities were totally preempted from enacting local wage theft legislation. Conclusions. Local wage theft laws provide an opportunity for innovative mechanisms to support complaint filing and enforcement. More cities could enact wage theft laws without preemption concerns. Public Health Implications. Ensuring that low-wage workers are fairly paid is important to health and health equity. Our research provides scientific legal data for use in evaluating the health effects of these widely applied protections. (Am J Public Health. 2026;116(4):492-501. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2025.308351).

Legal Framework and Collective Bargaining in the Implementation of Minimum Wage in the Rivers State Civil Service

Abstract Informal, low-quality employment in micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) remains a significant challenge in low- and middle-income countries. This study presents evidence from an impact evaluation of a light-touch business consulting program with a focus on employment formalization in Côte d’Ivoire. Using a randomized controlled trial with 448 self-selected MSMEs and a unique employer–employee dataset, it finds that the intervention led to employment formalization, driven by greater minimum wage compliance (12 percentage points (pp)) and an increase in written contract provision (7 pp). The intervention’s financial implications were moderate and the analysis shows suggestive evidence that these improvements were linked to selective formalization driven by employers’ cost-benefit calculation for individual workers. Findings indicate that firms may have partially formalized previously informal payment streams.

Globally, anemia among pregnant women remains a major public health problem, with a prevalence of 41.8% in 2024 according to WHO data. In Indonesia, the incidence of anemia in pregnancy continues to increase, affecting both maternal and fetal health. Therefore, further analysis of the determinants influencing anemia among pregnant women is necessary. This study aimed to analyze risk factors associated with anemia and identify the dominant factor among pregnant women in the Working Area of Ogan Komering Ilir Regency in 2025. This research employed an analytical observational design with a cross-sectional approach, involving 110 pregnant women attending Muara Burnai, Kutaraya, and Rantau Durian Community Health Centers from July to August 2025, using Accidental Sampling technique. The results showed that most respondents were aged 20 years, had higher education, poor knowledge, income below the regional minimum wage, low family support, poor compliance with iron tablet consumption, and suboptimal ANC visit achievement. Significant associations were found between age, education, knowledge, family support, pregnancy interval, iron tablet adherence, and ANC visit achievement with anemia incidence, while occupation, income, and healthcare workers’ roles were not significantly related. The most dominant factor influencing anemia was ANC visit achievement. Improving ANC compliance and nutrition education should be prioritized to reduce the incidence of anemia among pregnant women.

The article examines how the steady increases in the statutory minimum wage (SMW) following the end of the Troika adjustment programme in 2014 have impacted the wage distribution and collective bargaining dynamics in low-pay economic sectors in Portugal. It aims at contributing to the literature on the SMW pay equity effects by specifying the mechanisms through which SMW rises shape collective bargaining, wage compression and wage spillovers. Using a mixed-methods research design that combines statistical data from Quadros de Pessoal with semi-structured interviews with social actors and government officials, it shows that wage compression and spillovers are contingent on the institutional and structural features of low-pay sectors, such as exposure to price competitiveness or reliance on the state along a neo-corporatist logic. Moreover, the evidence suggests that spillovers are curtailed when SMW increases are not accompanied by the reinforcement of other labour market institutions.

Abstract Community recycling organizations are pivotal in advancing the circular economy, yet their business models and multidimensional value creation remain little explored. This case study examines Pró-CREP, a Base of the Pyramid recycling association located in Palhoça, Santa Catarina, Brazil. This analysis, conducted through data collected in November 2023, using the Ecocanvas framework and data triangulation to map and measure co-created value. The model reveals a resilient system integrating financial sustainability, social innovation, and environmental valuation. Beyond traditional recycling, the study clarifies ‘diversified circular activities’ as a multifunctional set of operations including composting, soap production from used oil, ceramic reuse workshops, and de management of a sustainable thrift store and a repurpose goods shop. Pró-CREP processes 60–70 tons per month, engages 65 members, and provides an average income of 1.5 minimum wages. The study highlights Ecocanvas’s potential to quantify value in vulnerable contexts, connecting debates on circular economy, inclusive business models, and ecosystem service valuation. It proposes recognizing community organizations as providers of measurable value and offers a transferable framework to strengthen similar initiatives in urban waste ecosystems. Graphical abstract

Minimum wages and suicide rates in Japan: 2009–2024

Impact of Minimum Wage on Household Income: Evidence from Vietnam’s Unification Policy

The heterogeneous effects of large and small minimum wage changes on hours worked: Evidence using a partially pre-committed analysis plan

Nationwide outcomes of early thoracic endovascular aortic repair for type B aortic dissection.

General objective: The main objective of this study was to characterize the perception of the need for prosthetic dental rehabilitation among edentulous patients in Yaoundé. Methodology: A descriptive Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) study was conducted over nine months in four healthcare facilities (private secular and religious, and public) in the city of Yaoundé. Data collection was carried out using a questionnaire administered to edentulous participants who had given their informed consent. Data processing was performed using IBM-SPSS version 25.0 statistical analysis software. Results: A total of 235 participants were included, with a predominance of females (53.2%). The most represented age group was 18-28 years. Most participants were employed (48.9%), had a monthly income below the guaranteed minimum interprofessional wage (39.6%), and had more than two missing teeth (40.4%). The majority of participants (39.1%) had a low level of knowledge about dental prosthetics, almost all participants (88.1%) held incorrect attitudes, and their practices were predominantly harmful (46%). Conclusion: The perception of edentulous patients is influenced by numerous factors, such as knowledge and the cost of prosthetics, which impact attitudes and practices.

Digital transformation has emerged as a growing focus of research and practice in hospitality and tourism firms. Drawing on capital-labor substitution theory, this study examines how minimum wage increments influence the digital transformation decisions within hospitality and tourism firms. It also explores the moderating roles of labor intensity and cash holdings in this relationship. Using data from Chinese hospitality and tourism firms listed on the A-share market of the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges between 2009 and 2022, the findings reveal that higher minimum wages promoted digital transformation in these firms. This effect is particularly pronounced for hospitality and tourism companies with higher labor intensity and lower cash holdings. This study highlights how external labor cost pressures significantly shape digital transformation strategies, expands the understanding of the drivers of digital transformation, and contributes valuable insights to the literature on the effects of minimum wage policies.

Agricultural workers are often excluded from labor laws; while some states have expanded labor protections and health and safety rules for agricultural workers, many states have not. We developed an agricultural worker labor law equity index (LLEI) using legal epidemiology methods. The LLEI evaluates state laws related to 3 labor protection topics-workers' compensation, minimum wage, and overtime pay-across 39 states from 2001 to 2017. For each topic, we scored states according to the extent to which they afforded protections to agricultural workers, where higher LLEI scores indicate more inclusive labor protections for agricultural workers. Most states had positive scores (N = 23, 59%), 8 states (20.5%) scored 0, and 8 states (20.5%) had negative scores. This study provides a greater understanding of the variation in labor protections for agricultural workers across 39 U.S. states. Future studies can use the LLEI to examine the impact of labor laws on agricultural workers' health.

Abstract In this paper, the team wage function of the football teams in the 5 major European football leagues is estimated using information about their sports results and controlling for the national league they play, the international competitions (i.e., Champions League and Europe League) they participate each year and the fresh promotions. The dataset used covers seasons 2018/19 to 2024/25. The methodology used corresponds to stochastic semi-parametric envelopment of data with contextual variables (StoNEZD), which allows estimating the outputs shadow prices for each team and the marginal effects of the contextual variables. The inefficiency score of each team, as well as their scale efficiency and returns to scale in each season, have also been estimated. The results show significant wage differences between the different national leagues as well as higher wages for teams that participate in the international competitions (higher in the case of the Champions League than in the Europa League). Also, it was found that the wages of freshly promoted teams do not catch up immediately with respect to those of the more established clubs. We also tested the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic (seasons 2019/20 and 2020/21) but it was not found significant pandemic. The estimated average wage inefficiency is rather low for all 5 leagues, indicating that a substantial part of the wage expenses is not explained by the observed ex-post performance. Scale efficiencies are higher and have less dispersion, with a majority of teams (between 62 and 75%, depending on the league) exhibiting increasing returns to scale and another fraction (between 25 and 35%, depending on the league) exhibiting decreasing returns to scale. Interestingly, a wage floor seems to exist so that the wages become insensitive to sports results below certain thresholds.

This study analyzes the influence of macroeconomic variables on poverty levels in Central Java Province during the 2018–2023 period, which captures the pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-pandemic phases. Using panel data from 34 regencies/cities and employing a Fixed Effect Model (FEM), this research examines the effects of the open unemployment rate (TPT), minimum wage, Human Development Index (HDI), and Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) on poverty. The results show that TPT does not have a significant effect on poverty, while minimum wage has a positive and significant effect, and HDI and GRDP have significant negative effects on poverty. These findings indicate that improvements in human development and inclusive economic growth are crucial for poverty reduction, while minimum wage policies may generate unintended short-term effects, particularly in regions dominated by informal employment. This study contributes by highlighting post-pandemic regional dynamics and the importance of inclusive development strategies in addressing poverty under conditions of economic uncertainty.

This paper examines the positive obligations of States Parties to the European Social Charter (ESC) to secure migrant workers’ collective bargaining rights and analyses their interaction with European Union (EU) law. It sets out the Charter framework, notably Article 5 on the right to organise and Article 6 on collective bargaining, read together with Article 19§4(b) on equal treatment in trade union membership and in the enjoyment of the benefits of collective bargaining, and analyses its interpretation in the supervisory practice of the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR). The paper addresses both formal legal conformity and effective implementation in practice, with particular attention to discriminatory effects and structural impediments that may undermine the practical and effective exercise of these rights. It then examines the interaction between ESC obligations and EU internal market freedoms, as illustrated by the Viking and Laval judgments, and considers whether subsequent EU instruments, including Directive (EU) 2022/2041 on adequate minimum wages, reinforce collective bargaining as a policy objective. It concludes that, notwithstanding areas of convergence, ESC standards retain autonomous normative force and require practical and effective protection of migrant workers’ collective bargaining rights.

This study aims to analyze the interactions among the minimum wage, unemployment rate, economic growth, and financial development in relation to inflation, as well as to identify causal relationship patterns among these variables. The research employs a quantitative approach using Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) analysis based on time-series data. Stationarity tests, optimal lag determination, stability tests, Granger causality tests, cointegration tests, and VECM estimation are conducted to examine the direction of relationships among variables and to estimate long-run effects in measuring the impact of each variable on inflation. The data utilized are secondary data obtained from official publications of relevant institutions and are analyzed using the E-Views statistical software. The results indicate that not all variables exhibit causal relationships. Inflation shows a one-way causal relationship with the unemployment rate, while financial development exhibits a one-way causal relationship with inflation. In addition, bidirectional causality is found between financial development and the minimum wage, as well as between financial development and economic growth. Long-run estimation results reveal that the minimum wage and unemployment rate have a positive and significant effect on inflation, whereas economic growth has a negative and significant effect on inflation. Financial development is also shown to have a positive effect on inflation. The findings underscore that inflation is influenced by a combination of labor market factors, macroeconomic conditions, and financial sector development; therefore, effective inflation control requires integrated and sustainable economic policies.

The Fundación WWB Colombia contributes to closing gender inequality gaps by promoting women's active participation in economic development through initiatives such as "Yarú," which provides training in business management and strengthens personal and entrepreneurial skills for entrepreneurs with subsistence microbusinesses. This study has identified an inequality in earnings by sales range among its beneficiary population, where 26.7% of men report monthly sales exceeding 2.5 times the minimum monthly wage (SMMLV), compared to 13.8% of women. The study explores whether this difference is mediated by unpaid care work, considering the performance of microbusinesses from 2021 to 2023 (3,396 microbusinesses) in Cali and surrounding municipalities.The study examined sociodemographic dimensions, aspects of direct and indirect care, and business performance through factorial and cluster analyses. To achieve this, a national comparative exercise was conducted using the Microbusiness Survey (Emicron) and the Integrated Household Survey (GEIH) from the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE). Additionally, qualitative data were collected to delve deeper into the population's relationship with care work and to understand how they balance paid and unpaid work schedules.

The article analyses the main theories and factors that determine wage stickiness (rigidity) in conditions of macroeconomic instability. The study found that wage rigidity was most widely considered by two economic schools: the non-Keynesian and monetarist schools. They developed the most models and theories. Neo-Keynesians proposed the NANRUE model (non-automatic wage equilibrium with natural unemployment), which explains the procyclicality of wages and reflects the relationship between aggregate demand, unemployment and price rigidity. Monetarists, led by M. Friedman, developed the «breakdown» model, which shows the relationship between macroeconomic shocks and changes in wage levels. However, contemporary authors suggest using many more factors when formulating public policy in the labour market or analysing wage stickiness. These include the minimum wage, strikes, the frequency of wage changes and the structure of jobs, as well as indicators of wage «freezing» and «reduction» as indicators of wage flexibility. The main idea behind the development of modern theories of wage stickiness is the need to introduce micro-indicators and indicators into macro-analysis, which will enrich and make economic models more flexible and accurate. As a result of our analysis, we found that nominal wage rigidity is not a constant phenomenon. It is influenced by both macroeconomic and microeconomic processes and factors. Modern research confirms the asymmetric nature of this rigidity. A positive economic shock has a disproportionate effect on the growth rate. Similarly, a negative shock cannot adequately reduce the level of income. This is because a ‘stickiness’ mechanism is triggered, which manifests itself in rising unemployment, highlighting the role of state fiscal and regulatory intervention. At the same time, it has been found that non-Keynesian models and theories derived from the «breakdown» model have limited predictive power due to their disregard for structural changes in employment and measurement errors. The transition to microdata analysis, the frequency of changes in individual wages, and the consideration of non-economic factors (trade unions and strikes), such as «grey» wages and the statutory minimum wage, allow for a more accurate identification of the degree of labour market adaptability to macroeconomic fluctuations.

Minimum wage differentials and commuting across districts