Abstract:

The theory of human capital suggests that minimum wage should have important adverse effects on human capital accumulations. In the standard theory a great part of this capital accumulates on job and often the employees finances this investment obtaining a lower wage level.
Also, relevant literature hosts a wide debate on how minimum wage influences training and lifelong learning. To test this influence and to determine which countries benefit from the highest job satisfaction and job security, we have considered the European Union countries which have regulated minimum wage levels (i.e. Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom). Using some rates as GDP, minimum wage, lifelong learning and unemployment we group the EU countries.
The first cluster includes the countries having a minimum wage above the EU average, a low unemployment rate, a GDP per capita at purchasing power parity greater than the EU average, and an average working time below the EU average. These countries are: Belgium, Ireland, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
The second cluster groups countries with the lowest minimum wage levels but with the highest number of working hours per week. These are: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland and Romania. The remaining countries - Greece, Spain, Malta, Portugal, and Slovenia – form the third cluster.

JEL Codes: E24, D21, C82

Keywords:

Minimum wage, working time, job satisfaction, job security.