There are considerable differences in minimum wage growth between EU member states that have statutory minimum wages. Using a novel dataset and a quantitative research design, the article tests whether the growth difference between EU member states can be explained by a catch-up dynamic in new EU member states, by different growth models in old and new EU member states or by a different composition and behaviour of actors responsible for the adjustment of minimum wages in the two groups of countries. The article advances the theory and the empirical knowledge of minimum wage policies and their determinants. The results show that growth differences are caused mainly by diverging strategies of actors in old and new EU member states. This points to fundamental institutional differences in the political economies of the two groups of countries, which remain underexamined in both research and policy-making.