Cardiff experts show Living Wage’s impact in new policy brief

Academics from Cardiff Business School have published a new policy brief for the Living Wage Foundation, showing how the Real Living Wage is a powerful example of civil regulation in action.

The Real Living Wage as Civil Regulation: An Assessment draws on over a decade of research, including a database of 20,000 accredited Living Wage Employers and two national surveys. It offers fresh insights into how civil regulation (voluntary standards led by civil society) can drive real improvements in the labour market.

It finds that the Living Wage has delivered significant benefits for low-paid workers while also offering modest, often positive, impacts for employers. The campaign has succeeded by appealing to business interests and working collaboratively across sectors.

Emeritus Professor Edmund Heery said: "Because it depends on voluntary support from employers, civil regulation is often seen as an ineffective way of improving employment conditions. Our research on the Real Living Wage, however, indicates that many thousands of workers have benefited, often receiving a substantial pay increase, and that in excess of £3.5bn has been transferred to the low paid."

The brief was authored by Emeritus Professor Edmund Heery and Professors David Nash and Deborah Hann of Cardiff Business School, drawing on their extensive body of research into the Living Wage, including Twenty Years of the Living Wage: The Employer Experience, The Real Living Wage in Higher Education, and the book The Real Living Wage: Civil Regulation and the Employment Relationship.

Read the full briefing.