On Thursday, July 10, CELSI Scientific Director Martin Kahanec delivered a speech at the 11th ECINEQ Conference, held at the World Bank Headquarters in Washington, D.C., where he presented a study on the Living Wage.

The ECINEQ Conference, co-hosted by the World Bank Group and George Washington University (GWU), provides an international forum for all researchers interested in the analysis of economic inequality and related fields, bringing together a diversity of perspectives.

This year, ECINEQ focused on inequality, poverty, mobility, and redistribution. It featured keynote speeches by Daron Acemoglu (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Garance Genicot (Georgetown University), and Nora Lustig (Tulane University).

Kahanec presented a study titled "Global Benchmarks for Decent Living: Measuring and Validating the Living Wage Against Minimum Wage and Other Adequacy Standards," co-authored with CELSI researchers Martin Guzi, Nina Holičková, and Nii Ashia Amanquarnor from the WageIndicator Foundation.

The study introduces a harmonized measure of living wages and demonstrates, through empirical analysis, that living wages provide a more reliable benchmark for a decent standard of living than existing statutory minimum wages or "adequate wages" defined as 60% of the median wage.

Using data from 38 countries and seven occupational groups, the authors find that calculated living wages align with the empirically identified threshold of material deprivation, whereas current minimum or adequate wages fall significantly below this level.

The findings offer a robust and practical tool for policymakers, employers, and social partners to evaluate and reform wage-setting policies.

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