How do you accurately measure the number of people being paid less than the legal minimum wage?

What is it about?

Many countries of minimum wages set in law. Governments carry out surveys and administrative data to see if everyone is being paid the legal minimum. However, measuring that accurately can be quite difficult. This paper describes the problems that can arise, and gives an example of how more accurate estimates can be obtained using UK data.

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Why is it important?

Knowing how many people are paid below the minimum, what sort of people they are, which industries or occupations etc that they work in, and so on, all helps policy makers target enforcement strategies more effectively.