Wp.as?~9 POLIcy RESEARCH WORKING PAPER 2597 Measuring the Impact Simple numerical measures of the minimum wage may offer of Minimum Wages deceptive indications of its impact. Alternative measures, such as kernel density or Evidence from Latin America cumulative distribution plots, are more reliable, and William F. Maloney highlightinfluences higherin Jairo Nunez the wage distribution or on the informal sector. Panel with employment data from Colombia-where minimum Wendy Cunningham, Norbert Fiess, Claudio Montenegro, wages seem high and Edmundo Murrugarra, Mauricio Santamaria, and binding-show that the Claudia Sepulveda minimum wage can have important impacts on wages and unemployment across the wage distribution. The World Bank Latin America and the Caribbean Region Poverty Sector Unit and Office of the Chief Economist April 2001