This study investigates the relationship between minimum wage intensity and youth labour market outcomes in a comparative macro-panel of 18 European countries over a twenty-year period (2005–2024). Minimum wage intensity is measured through the Kaitz index, defined as the ratio between the statutory minimum wage and the median wage. Youth labour market outcomes are examined through four complementary indicators: the youth unemployment rate (YUR), the youth employment rate (YER), the share of young people classified as NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training), and the incidence of involuntary part-time employment. The analysis is motivated by persistent challenges related to youth unemployment and labour market exclusion across Europe, as well as by the ongoing policy debate on the role of minimum wage institutions in shaping young people’s employment opportunities. While minimum wages have traditionally been analysed in relation to employment and wage distribution, examining their association with different indicators of youth labour market outcomes offers a broader perspective on young people’s employment opportunities and working conditions. Analysing these indicators separately makes it possible to distinguish unemployment among economically active young people from employment within the youth population, the wider phenomenon of exclusion from employment, education and training, and underemployment related to insufficient working hours. The empirical analysis adopts a panel-data framework to investigate the relationship between minimum wage intensity and each youth labour market indicator, with particular attention to country-specific heterogeneity, temporal persistence, and cross-sectional dependence. The methodological approach considers alternative static and dynamic panel specifications, including fixed-effects models with Driscoll–Kraay standard errors and Common Correlated Effects estimators, to assess the sensitivity of the results to different modelling assumptions. The analysis further investigates whether these relationships differ across wage-setting regimes and institutional contexts. By examining youth unemployment, employment, NEET rates, and involuntary part-time employment separately within a common methodological framework, the study aims to provide a broader understanding of how minimum wage intensity relates to different dimensions of youth labour market outcomes across European countries.
