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Globally, around 19% of wage earners, about 327 million people,earn wages at or below the minimum level. Therefore, our findings have important policy implications, suggesting that minimum wage policies can be an effective strategy to improve the health and well-being of low-skilled workers.

An examination of the mechanisms reveals a fascinating pattern: when minimum wages rise, incomes go up but people also adjust by working fewer overtime hours, leading to increased time for other activities and ultimately, improved physical and mental wellbeing.

We find that a 10 percent increase in the minimum wage leads to an increase in self-reported health ranging from 0% to 1% and an increase in satisfaction with the standard of living between 1% and 6%, at the outcome means.

We estimate a range of specifications including TWFE models, event-study analysis and contemporary differences-in-differences methods that correct biases due to heterogenous treatment effects when the treatment is continuous.

Our analysis uses Gallup World Poll data from 2009 to 2020 covering 87 countries worldwide. Identification is achieved using within-country changes over time and cross-country variations in the timing and intensity of minimum wage increases across countries.