Together with her first supervisor, Prof. Rémi Bazillier, ADAPTED fellow and PhD IDS member María Moraga Fernández has recently published a working paper. The paper is based on María's PhD research conducted in the context of the ADAPTED project, which was co-supervised by Prof. Wilhelm Löwenstein.

The working paper titled "Minimum Wage Shocks, Firms and Employment: Evidence from Africa" addresses the persistent gap of studies on the effect of minimum wage policies in Sub-Saharan Africa and examines the economic impact of minimum wage shocks on firms across the African continent using firm-level data from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys. Moraga Fernández and Bazillier find that minimum wage shocks significantly increase labor costs per worker, suggesting at least a partial enforcement of regulations. However, no robust impact on employment was detected. Instead, firms partly offset higher labor costs through increased sales or productivity. The authors identify three complementary mechanisms: (1) a cleansing effect, where less productive firms exit; (2) capital investment as an adjustment channel; and (3) a local demand boost, with stronger sales effects in large markets.

Bazillier, R. and Moraga-Fernández, M. (2025): Minimum Wage Shocks, Firms and Employment: Evidence from Africa. Centre d'Économie de la Sorbonne (CES), Paris: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-05016199/file/25006.pdf.