The Effect Of Minimum Wage On Migrant Workers’ Participation In Insurance

With the advancement of urbanization,the question of whether migrant workers can integrate into the city has attracted much attention.The issue of migrant workers’ pension security greatly affects the happiness and sense of belonging of migrant workers in their work and life in the city.Under China’s current endowment insurance system,migrant workers can choose either the basic endowment insurance for urban employees or the endowment insurance for urban and rural residents.Generally speaking,the benefits received by urban employee pension insurance in the future are much higher than those of urban and rural residents’ pension insurance.Migrant workers is a special group that emerged in the process of China’s economic reform and social transformation.It has been a disadvantaged group in the labor market for many years,and it should be the key guarantee for the minimum wage.However,the minimum wage increases the labor costs of enterprises,and enterprises may reduce the impact by evading premiums and other methods,causing damage to employees’ welfare.In addition,there is a certain gap between the minimum wage and the lower limit of endowment insurance payment base,which makes the payment burden of the minimum wage income group heavier.Therefore,this paper constructs a panel Logit model,using the data of 2014 and 2016 China Labor Force Dynamics Survey(CLDS)as analysis samples,matching the minimum wage of prefecture-level cities,and analyzing the impact of the minimum wage on migrant workers’ endowment insurance participation behavior.The results show that: First,the minimum wage has a significant impact on the participation behavior of migrant workers.With the increase of the minimum wage,the participation rate of migrant workers in the endowment insurance for urban workers decreases,while the rate of endowment insurance system for urban and rural residents increases.Second,through further analysis,it is found that the minimum wage system has a greater impact on private enterprises,individual industrial and commercial households,and labor-intensive enterprise migrant workers’ decision-making to participate in insurance.The income level and vocational skill level of workers in labor-intensive enterprises are generally low,and individuals are more significantly affected by changes in the minimum wage.Under the background of not strict supervision of enterprise employment behavior,private enterprises,individual industrial and commercial households and other employers are more likely to avoid paying the endowment insurance for urban workers.Therefore,individual migrant workers in these units are more likely to choose the endowment insurance system for urban and rural.Third,the impact of the minimum wage on migrant workers’ participation in insurance is also heterogeneous in different regions.The economy in the eastern region is relatively developed,and the frequency of minimum wage adjustments is also significantly higher than that in the western region,which may make migrant workers in the eastern region less sensitive to changes in the minimum wage.The economic development level in the western region is relatively low as a whole,and the per capita disposable income is low.Therefore,individuals in the western region may be more significantly affected by the increase in the minimum wage standard.Finally,in order to mobilize the enthusiasm of enterprises and employees to increase the participation rate of endowment insurance for urban workers,this paper puts forward the following recommendations: adjust the minimum wage and social insurance payment base,establish social insurance payment incentive mechanisms,improve the vocational skills and awareness of migrant workers,and refine the minimum wage.