Minimum Wages and Trainers' Dilemma

This paper examines how a minimum wage, viewed as an incentive to trainers, would affect the informal help provided through on-the-job training. In the work environment, experienced employees play a significant role in training new employees. However, the more help they provide to trainees, the less likely that the trainers themselves will be promoted. This is the trainer's dilemma: help trainees or work for promotion. We show that a minimum wage alleviates the trainer's dilemma, as it increases the earnings of non-promoted workers and reduces the net benefit of promotion for experienced employees. Hence, minimum wage regulation encourages informal help and enhances welfare, although it reduces the firm's profit.