最低工資對所得提升與貧窮程度的影響—臺灣實證

我國自1956年起實施最低工資制度，中央制定最低工資主要為維持勞工基本生活水準，及改善貧窮的問題，故本研究探討最低工資是否真有助於提升所得收入與改善貧窮。採取1993年至2019年間之資料，以臺灣地區與六大直轄市為研究範圍。使用家庭平均每人可支配所得衡量所得水準，並依其所在地區規範低收入戶標準之最低生活費用標準，轉換為均等化資料用以衡量貧窮程度，並採用追蹤資料和分量迴歸模型作實證分析，探討最低工資對所得與貧窮所造成的影響。　　臺灣地區和六都實證結果皆顯示，最低工資對所得收入無顯著影響。而在貧窮程度方面，最低工資的調漲並無法使人民擺脫貧困；但若以提高最低工資相對於最低生活費用的增加，將能有效地改善貧窮程度。

關鍵字

最低工資；平均每人可支配所得；貧窮

並列摘要

Taiwan has implemented a minimum wage policy since 1956. The central government sets a minimum wage mainly to maintain the basic living standards of workers and improve poverty. Therefore, my study explores whether the minimum wage can really help increase income and reduce poverty. The study uses the data pertaining to the Taiwan’s area and the six municipalities from 1993 to 2019. We use the average disposable income per capita in the household to measure the income level, and divide it by the minimum cost of living standard per person for low-income households in the region to apprehend the degree of poverty. The panel data and quantile regression models are used for empirical analysis to explore the impact of the minimum wage on income and poverty. 　　The empirical results of the Taiwan’s area and the six municipalities show that the minimum wage has no significant effect on income. Neither can the increase in the minimum wage reduce poverty. However, if we increase the minimum wage relative to the minimum cost of living, it will effectively improve poverty.