eprintid: 10072209
rev_number: 22
eprint_status: archive
userid: 608
dir: disk0/10/07/22/09
datestamp: 2019-04-15 11:37:40
lastmod: 2021-09-29 22:18:51
status_changed: 2019-09-17 09:54:03
type: article
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: Lindner, A
creators_name: Zipperer, B
creators_name: Dube, A
creators_name: Doruk, C
title: The Effect of Minimum Wages on Low Wage Jobs
ispublished: pub
divisions: UCL
divisions: B03
divisions: C03
divisions: F24
note: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
abstract: We estimate the eect of minimum wages on low-wage jobs using 138 prominent state-level
minimum wage changes between 1979 and 2016 in the U.S using a dierence-in-dierences approach.
We first estimate the eect of the minimum wage increase on employment changes by wage bins
throughout the hourly wage distribution. We then focus on the bottom part of the wage distribution
and compare the number of excess jobs paying at or slightly above the new minimum wage to the
missing jobs paying below it to infer the employment eect. We find that the overall number of
low-wage jobs remained essentially unchanged over the five years following the increase. At the
same time, the direct eect of the minimum wage on average earnings was amplified by modest
wage spillovers at the bottom of the wage distribution. Our estimates by detailed demographic
groups show that the lack of job loss is not explained by labor-labor substitution at the bottom of
the wage distribution. We also find no evidence of disemployment when we consider higher levels of
minimum wages. However, we do find some evidence of reduced employment in tradable sectors.
We also show how decomposing the overall employment eect by wage bins allows a transparent
way of assessing the plausibility of estimates.
date: 2019-08
date_type: published
publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
official_url: https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjz014
oa_status: green
full_text_type: other
language: eng
primo: open
primo_central: open_green
verified: verified_manual
elements_id: 1646032
doi: 10.1093/qje/qjz014
lyricists_name: Lindner, Attila
lyricists_id: ALIND76
actors_name: Lindner, Attila
actors_id: ALIND76
actors_role: owner
full_text_status: public
publication: The Quarterly Journal of Economics
volume: 134
number: 3
pagerange: 1405-1454
issn: 0033-5533
citation:        Lindner, A;    Zipperer, B;    Dube, A;    Doruk, C;      (2019)    The Effect of Minimum Wages on Low Wage Jobs.                   The Quarterly Journal of Economics , 134  (3)   pp. 1405-1454.    10.1093/qje/qjz014 <https://doi.org/10.1093/qje%2Fqjz014>.       Green open access   
 
document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10072209/1/CDLZ_qje.pdf