Review supports U.K.’s plan to raise minimum wage

An independent review posted on Monday is backing up Britain’s plan to raise the minimum wage to two-thirds of median earnings. The raise moves the wage to 10.50 pounds or $13.58 per hour.

Finance Minister Sajid Javid said in September he would raise the National Living Wage (NLW) to the new target by 2024 and lower the age limit to 21 from 25 for all workers to join the workforce.

The government commissioned an independent study from economics professor Arindrajit Dube from University of Massachusetts Amherst which examined the impact of wages in Germany, United States and Britain.

“Based on the overall evidence – with a special emphasis on the recent, high quality, evaluations of the NLW and other more ambitious policies internationally – my report concludes that there is room for exploring a higher NLW in the UK up to two-thirds of the median wage. It will also be important to empirically evaluate and recalibrate any such ambitious policy based on new evidence down the road,” he said.

“The evidence is clear that our approach is the right one,” said Javid.