The fraction of workers currently covered by minimum wages in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is
small, but as formality and urbanization increase, wage regulation will become increasingly
relevant. In this analysis, we find that higher minimum wage values are associated with
higher levels of GDP per capita, in both SSA and non-SSA countries. Using two measures to
assess the level at which minimum wages are set, we find that minimum wages in SSA
countries are on average lower—relative to average wages—than most other comparable …

Although the sectors and fraction of workers covered are small given the low rates of
formality and urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), as the number of covered workers
grows wage regulation will become increasingly significant. We find that higher minimum
wage values are associated with higher GDP per capita. Importantly, however, we find that
the minimum wage relative to the mean wage is higher in low income countries than in lower-
and upper-middle income countries. Indeed, SSA as a whole reflects a bias towards a more …