Is There Any Impact On Cost Of Living As The Minimum Wage Increases?

Title:Is there any impact on the cost of living when the government imposed new minimum wage law? Evidence from Thailand.The adjustments of the minimum wage is said to raise the standard of living of the people thus affecting the economy as a whole both directly and indirectly. As of January2013, a national minimum wage in Thailand was introduced to300Thai baht (approximately USD10, with an approximated exchange rate of USD1=THB30) nationwide.This paper studies whether or not the minimum wage raises the cost of living, as measured using Consumer Price Index. The panel data used covers3years, from January2011to December2013and the77provinces in Thailand. The author uses entity and time fixed effects to analyse if there is any impact of the change in the minimum wage on the inflation.The author finds that the increase in the nominal minimum wage has an impact on the cost of living as measured using Consumer Price Index.