Minimum Wage and Alternative Wage Systems

In a rapidly transforming labor landscape, the debate over the minimum wage and the adoption of alternative wage systems—such as Singapore’s Progressive Wage Model—has garnered increasing attention in the Philippines. While traditional minimum wage structures aim to provide a safety net for workers, critiques of their effectiveness in alleviating poverty and income inequality have intensified, particularly among the youth. Generation Z, known for its digital savviness and heightened social consciousness, represents a critical demographic whose opinions and engagement may shape future wage policy directions. However, despite their visibility in online discourse, young Filipinos' actual understanding, support, or resistance to wage reforms remains underexplored. This study seeks to investigate how sociocultural background, information access, and regional disparities influence Generation Z’s views on wage systems, and how public awareness, labor education, and alternative models could potentially shift these perspectives.

Who Can Use These Topics

This research is ideal for students and professionals pursuing the following courses or strands:

College Programs:

• BS Economics

• BA Political Science

• BSBA Human Resource Management

• BSBA Financial Management

• BA Sociology

• BS Development Studies

• BS Labor Relations

Senior High School Strands:

• Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS)

• Accountancy, Business, and Management (ABM)

• General Academic Strand (GAS)

Why This Topic Needs Research

Although the conversation on wage policy continues to evolve, several critical research gaps remain:

• Informational and cultural drivers underexplored: While mixed attitudes were recorded, little was known about how social media, school curriculum, or community values influence young Filipinos’ wage beliefs (Madrona, 2024).

• Sector-based wage effectiveness untested: Studies have not examined how occupation-based wage systems might better suit the needs of labor-intensive vs. capital-intensive industries in the Philippine setting (Yang, 2021).

• Minimum vs. living wage impact not compared: Few empirical comparisons exist on how living wage proposals differ from minimum wage outcomes in terms of reducing poverty and inequality (San Juan, 2022).

• Union revival and informal workers: The role of labor unions and new forms of organizing remains inadequately studied among contractual, informal, and gig economy workers (Asuncion, 2024).

• Lack of worker-centered class analysis: There is limited research on how workers themselves construct class identity and mobilize politically amid growing economic insecurity (Velasco, 2023).

• Structural wage gaps remain unexplained: While wage gaps are statistically documented, underlying causes such as bias, work quality, or experience gaps are insufficiently analyzed (Chow et al., 2024).

• Regional fragility left unresolved: Fragility’s effects on employment are clear, yet region-specific interventions and policy reforms to address long-term wage inequality remain under-researched (Lanzona, 2022).

Feasibility & Challenges by Target Group

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References

ASUNCION, R. A. (2024). Labor Unions in a Changing World of Work: The Philippine Experience.

Chow, N., Dabbay, M. F. C., & Sauler, M. M. (2024). Wage Gaps in the Philippines: A Decomposition Analysis. DLSU Business & Economics Review, 34(1), 31.

Lanzona Jr, L. A. (2024). The Effect of Fragility on Labour Market Employment and Wages in the Philippines. Millennial Asia, 15(1), 24-50.

Madrona Jr, S. C. (2024). Balancing Growth and Equity: Exploring Generation Z's Perspectives on Minimum Wage Policy and the Adoption of the Singaporean Model in the Philippines. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Educational Research and Innovation, 2(2), 275-285.

San Juan, D. M. (2022). Poverty, Living Wage & Income Inequality in the Developing World: Views and Visions from the Philippines 1 (accepted manuscript/book chapter for Global Poverty: Rethinking Causality 2. Global Poverty. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.

Velasco, B. (2023). Using Marx to understand the working class in the Philippines. Philippine Journal of Public Policy: Interdisciplinary Development Perspectives, 1-33.

Yang, S. (2021). Should We Abolish the Minimum Wage.

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