Bai Yihong, Kim Chungah, Chum Antony
Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, 1465 Richmond Street, London, ON, N6G 2M1, Canada.
School of Kinesiology and Health Science, York University, Toronto, Ontario, M3J 1P3, Canada.
Am J Epidemiol. 2025 May 7;194(5):1230-1237. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwae315.
South Korea's 2018 minimum wage hike was examined for its impact on potential alcohol use disorders among affected individuals, using data from the Korea Welfare Panel Study (2015-2019). The study sample was restricted to workers aged 19-64 employed over the study years. The treatment group was identified as those below minimum wages, and the control group as those earning more than minimum wages in 2016-2017 (n = 3117 control, n = 578 treatment). Using outcomes derived from the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, our results from difference-in-differences models showed that the 2018 wage hike was linked to a 1.9% increase in the "high risk" of alcohol use disorder and a 3.6% rise in hazardous consumption in the treatment group. Notably, the effects were more pronounced among men and those aged 50-64. Additionally, we confirmed that the spillover effects extended to workers earning up to 20% above the minimum wage. This study underscores the unintended substance use risk of minimum wage policies in the East Asian context. As wage policies are implemented, integrated public health campaigns targeting at-risk groups are required.
利用韩国福利面板研究（2015 - 2019年）的数据，研究了韩国2018年提高最低工资对受影响个体潜在酒精使用障碍的影响。研究样本限于在研究年份受雇的19 - 64岁工人。治疗组被确定为工资低于最低工资的人，对照组为2016 - 2017年收入高于最低工资的人（对照组n = 3117，治疗组n = 578）。使用酒精使用障碍识别测试得出的结果，我们在差异模型中的结果表明，2018年的工资上涨与治疗组中酒精使用障碍“高风险”增加1.9%以及有害饮酒量增加3.6%有关。值得注意的是，这些影响在男性和50 - 64岁人群中更为明显。此外，我们证实溢出效应延伸到了工资比最低工资高20%的工人。本研究强调了在东亚背景下最低工资政策意外带来的物质使用风险。随着工资政策的实施，需要针对高危人群开展综合公共卫生运动。
