The Minimum Wage and Transparent Wages in the EU: Means to Address Multidimensional Inequalities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61801/Arsaequi.2025.276Keywords:
multidimensional inequalities, income disparities, gender pay gap, in-work poverty, minimum wage, wage transparencyAbstract
This paper explores the role of minimum wage policies and transparent wage practices in the European Union as instruments to mitigate multidimensional inequalities. It situates wage regulation within the broader framework of social justice and solidarity, emphasizing its potential to reduce disparities not only in income but also in gender, sectoral, and regional dimensions. By examining EU directives and national implementations, the study highlights how minimum wage standards contribute to safeguarding workers against in-work poverty, while transparency mechanisms foster accountability and narrow wage gaps. The analysis underscores the interplay between legal frameworks, institutional capacity, and cultural attitudes toward fairness, revealing both opportunities and limitations in current approaches. Ultimately, the paper argues that strengthening minimum and transparent wage policies is essential for advancing equitable labour markets and reinforcing the EU’s commitment to social cohesion.
References
Adamczyk S, ‘Collective bargaining and minimum wage regime in Poland’, in T Müller (ed), Collective Bargaining and Minimum Wage Regimes in the European Union (European Trade Union Institute 2025) 91-94
Atkinson AB, Inequality: What Can Be Done? (Harvard University Press 2015)
Atkinson AB and Piketty T, Top Incomes: A Global Perspective (Oxford University Press 2010)
Bourdieu P, Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste (trans R Nice; Harvard University Press 1984)
Crenshaw K, ‘Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color’ (1991) 43(6) Stanford Law Review 1241-1299 https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039
De Saussure F, Course in General Linguistics (trans R Harris; Duckworth 1983)
Dube A, ‘Minimum Wages and the Distribution of Family Incomes’ (2019) 11(4) American Economic Journal: Ap-plied Economics 268-304 https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20170085
Engerman DC, Know Your Enemy: The Rise and Fall of America’s Soviet Experts (Oxford University Press 2009)
Fransson A and Kjellberg A, ‘Collective bargaining and minimum wage regime in Sweden’, in T Müller (ed), Col-lective Bargaining and Minimum Wage Regimes in the European Union (European Trade Union Institute 2025) 118-122
Fraser N, Justice Interruptus: Critical Reflections on the “Postsocialist” Condition (Routledge 1997)
Freeman R and Medoff J, What Do Unions Do? (Basic Books 1984)
Freeman R, ‘The Minimum Wage as a Redistributive Tool’ (1996) 106(436) The Economic Journal 639-649 https://doi.org/10.2307/2235571
Hofstadter R, Social Darwinism in American Thought (Beacon Press 1955)
Katz LF, ‘Efficiency Wage Theories: A Partial Evaluation’ (1986) 1 NBER Macroeconomics Annual 235-290
Levitas R, The Inclusive Society? Social Exclusion and New Labour (Palgrave Macmillan 1998)
Manning A, Monopsony in Motion: Imperfect Competition in Labor Markets (Princeton University Press 2003)
Muddle C and Rovira Kaltwasser C, Populism: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press 2017)
Müller T, ‘Collective bargaining and minimum wage regime in Germany’, in T Müller (ed), Collective Bargaining and Minimum Wage Regimes in the European Union – The Transposition of the EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages in the EU27 (European Trade Union Institute 2025) 47-50
Norris P and Inglehart R, Cultural Backlash: Trump, Brexit, and Authoritarian Populism (Cambridge University Press 2019)
Plasman R and Rycx F, ‘Collective Bargaining and Poverty: A Cross‑National Perspective’ (2001) 7(2) European Journal of Industrial Relations 175-202
Polanyi K, The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time (Beacon Press 1944)
Robinson J, The Economics of Imperfect Competition (Macmillan 1933)
Rubery J and Grimshaw, D, ‘Gender and the Minimum Wage’, in S Lee and D McCann (eds), Regulating for Decent Work (Palgrave Macmillan 2011) 226-254
Schlicht E, Efficiency Wages: Models of Unemployment, Layoffs, and Wage Dispersion (Princeton University Press 1990)
Schumpeter JA, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy (Harper & Brothers 1942)
Schwab K, The Fourth Industrial Revolution (World Economic Forum 2016)
Sen A, Development as Freedom (Oxford University Press 1999)
Sen A, Social Exclusion: Concept, Application, and Scrutiny (Asian Development Bank 2000)
Shakespeare W, King Lear (ed RA Foakes; Arden Shakespeare 1997)
Silver H, ‘Social Exclusion and Social Solidarity: Three Paradigms’ (1994) 133(5-6) International Labour Review 531-578
Van Dijk J, The Digital Divide (Polity Press 2020)
Visser J, ‘What happened to collective bargaining during the great recession?’ (2016) 5(9) IZA Journal of Labor Policy 1-35 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40173-016-0061-1
Wright EO, Class Counts: Comparative Studies in Class Analysis (Cambridge University Press 1997)
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Editura Solomon.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
.png)
.png)
