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Cengiz, Doruk, Arindrajit Dube, Attila S. Lindner & David Zentler-Munro (2021): Seeing Beyond the Trees: Using Machine Learning to Estimate the Impact of Minimum Wages on Labor Market Outcomes. (NBER working paper 28399), Cambridge, MA, 60 S. DOI:10.3386/w28399

Abstract

"We assess the effect of the minimum wage on labor market outcomes such as employment, unemployment, and labor force participation for most workers affected by the policy. We apply modern machine learning tools to construct demographically-based treatment groups capturing around 75% of all minimum wage workers—a major improvement over the literature which has focused on fairly narrow subgroups where the policy has a large bite (e.g., teens). By exploiting 172 prominent minimum wages between 1979 and 2019 we find that there is a very clear increase in average wages of workers in these groups following a minimum wage increase, while there is little evidence of employment loss. Furthermore, we find no indication that minimum wage has a negative effect on the unemployment rate, on the labor force participation, or on the labor market transitions. Furthermore, we detect no employment or participation responses even for sub-groups that are likely to have a high extensive margin labor supply elasticity—such as teens, older workers, or single mothers. Overall, these findings provide little evidence for changing search effort in response to a minimum wage increase." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Chorna, Olena (2021): Firm-level Effects of Minimum Wages. In: Prague Economic Papers, Jg. 30, H. 4, S. 402-425. DOI:10.18267/j.pep.773

Abstract

"We investigate how increases in minimum wage affect various firm-level characteristics. We study firm-level data from Poland, where the minimum wage experienced a large and persistent increase in 2008 and 2009. We show that firms which were more exposed to the minimum wage increase faced higher increases in total labour costs and larger reductions in profitability. Intuitively, higher total labour costs driven by higher minimum wages directly reduce firm profits in the absence of price adjustments. We also show that the sharp increases in the minimum wage increased capital and decreased overall labour productivity and employment. The impact of policy is statistically significant only on capital." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Clemens, Jeffrey & Michael R. Strain (2021): The Heterogeneous Effects of Large and Small Minimum Wage Changes. Evidence over the Short and Medium Run Using a Pre-Analysis Plan. (NBER working paper 29264), Cambridge, Mass, 96 S. DOI:10.3386/w29264

Abstract

"This paper advances the use of pre-analysis plans in non-experimental research settings. In a study of recent minimum wage changes, we demonstrate how analyses of medium- and long-run impacts of policy interventions can be pre-specified as extensions to short-run analyses. Further, our pre-analysis plan includes comparisons of the effects of large vs. small minimum wage increases, which is a theoretically motivated dimension of heterogeneity. We discuss how these use cases harness the strengths of pre-analysis plans while mitigating their weaknesses. This project's initial analyses explored CPS and ACS data from 2011 through 2015. Alongside these analyses, we pre-committed to analyses incorporating CPS and ACS data extending through 2019. Averaging across the specifications in our pre-analysis plan, we estimate that relatively large minimum wage increases reduced employment rates among low-skilled individuals by just over 2.5 percentage points. Our estimates of the effects of relatively small minimum wage increases vary across data sets and specifications but are, on average, both economically and statistically indistinguishable from zero. We estimate that medium-run effects exceed short-run effects and that the elasticity of employment with respect to the minimum wage is substantially more negative for large minimum wage increases than for small increases." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Cribb, Jonathan, Giulia Giupponi, Robert Joyce, Attila Lindner, Tom Waters, Thomas Wernham & Xiaowei Xu (2021): The distributional and employment impacts of nationwide Minimum Wage changes. (IFS working paper / Institute for Fiscal Studies 2021,48), London, 40 S.

Abstract

"We estimate the effect of the introduction of the UK's National Living Wage in 2016, and increases in it up to 2019, using a new empirical method. We apply a bunching approach to a setting with no geographical variation in minimum wage rates. We effectively compare employment changes in each part of the wage distribution in low-wage areas to employment changes among similar workers living in higher-wage areas who are less exposed to increases in the national minimum wage because their nominal wages are further above it. We find substantial positive wage effects, including statistically significant spillovers up to around the 20th percentile of wages. Overall we find small negative effects on employment which are not statistically significant. We combine these estimates with a tax and benefit microsimulation model to estimate the impact on household incomes. The largest gains go to the middle of the overall working-age income distribution, though they are more concentrated within the bottom third if we consider only households with someone in paid work. The gains to poorer working households are limited by the withdrawal of means tested benefits as earnings increase. Effects of minimum wages on household incomes are very sensitive to the size of employment effects." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Datta, Nikhil & Stephen Machin (2021): Living wages and age discontinuities for low-wage workers. (CEP discussion paper 1803), London, 30 S.

Abstract

"This paper considers an emerging, highly policy relevant feature of minimum wages, studying what happens when a wage floor significantly higher than a nationally legislated minimum is imposed. The consequences of age-wage discontinuities and wage floors higher than mandated minimum wages are explored in the context of a Living Wage being introduced to a large UK organisation through time. Between 2011 and 2019, the Company was exposed to a Living Wage Rate higher than the statutory National Minimum Wage, which was sequentially introduced into some of its establishments and had the effect of boosting wages and strongly increasing the age-wage discontinuity from age-related pay grades. The analysis finds positive labour supply responses at the age discontinuity before Living Wage treatment, but a fall in hours at the discontinuity following treatment. The Living Wage raised wage costs but did not affect aggregate hours, showing a within-establishment reallocation of hours by age arising from differential eligibility to be paid the Living Wage." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Derenoncourt, Ellora & Claire Montialoux (2021): Minimum Wages and Racial Inequality. In: The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Jg. 136, H. 1, S. 169-228. DOI:10.1093/qje/qjaa031

Abstract

"The earnings difference between white and black workers fell dramatically in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This article shows that the expansion of the minimum wage played a critical role in this decline. The 1966 Fair Labor Standards Act extended federal minimum wage coverage to agriculture, restaurants, nursing homes, and other services that were previously uncovered and where nearly a third of black workers were employed. We digitize over 1,000 hourly wage distributions from Bureau of Labor Statistics industry wage reports and use CPS microdata to investigate the effects of this reform on wages, employment, and racial inequality. Using a cross-industry difference-in-differences design, we show that earnings rose sharply for workers in the newly covered industries. The impact was nearly twice as large for black workers as for white workers. Within treated industries, the racial gap adjusted for observables fell from 25 log points prereform to 0 afterward. We can rule out significant disemployment effects for black workers. Using a bunching design, we find no aggregate effect of the reform on employment. The 1967 extension of the minimum wage can explain more than 20% of the reduction in the racial earnings and income gap during the civil rights era. Our findings shed new light on the dynamics of labor market inequality in the United States and suggest that minimum wage policy can play a critical role in reducing racial economic disparities." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Dube, Arindrajit & Attila S. Lindner (2021): City Limits: What do Local-Area Minimum Wages Do? In: The Journal of Economic Perspectives, Jg. 35, H. 1, S. 27-50. DOI:10.1257/jep.35.1.27

Abstract

"Cities are increasingly setting their own minimum wages, and this trend has accelerated sharply in recent years. While in 2010 there were only three cities with their own minimum wages exceeding the state or federal standard, by 2020 there were 42. This new phenomenon raises the question: is it desirable to have city-level variation in minimum wage polices? We discuss the main trade-offs emerging from local variation in minimum wage polices and evaluate their empirical relevance. First, we document what type of cities raise minimum wages, and we discuss how these characteristics can potentially impact the effectiveness of city-level minimum wage policies. Second, we summarize the evolving evidence on city-level minimum wage changes and provide some new evidence of our own. Early evidence suggests that the impact of the policy on wages and employment to date has been broadly similar to the evidence on state- and federal-level minimum wage changes. Overall, city-level minimum wages seem to be able to tailor the policy to the local economic environment without imposing substantial distortions in allocation of labor and businesses across locations." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Engelhardt, Gary V. & Patrick J. Purcell (2021): The minimum wage and annual earnings inequality. In: Economics Letters, Jg. 207. DOI:10.1016/j.econlet.2021.110001

Abstract

"We estimate the impact of the minimum wage on U.S. male annual earnings inequality, using administrative Social Security earnings records from 1981-2015. The minimum wage reduces inequality in the bottom quartile of the earnings distribution, and especially in the bottom decile." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2021 Elsevier) ((en))

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Fishback, Price V. & Andrew Seltzer (2021): The Rise of American Minimum Wages, 1912-1968. In: The Journal of Economic Perspectives, Jg. 35, H. 1, S. 73-96. DOI:10.1257/jep.35.1.73

Abstract

"This paper studies the judicial, political, and intellectual battles over minimum wages from the early state laws of the 1910s through the peak in the real federal minimum in 1968. Early laws were limited to women and children and were ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court between 1923 and 1937. The first federal law in 1938 initially exempted large portions of the workforce and set rates that became effectively obsolete during World War II. Later amendments raised minimum rates, but coverage did not expand until 1961. The states led the way in rates and coverage in the 1940s and 50s and again since the 1980s. The most contentious questions of today—the impact of minimum wages on earnings and employment—were already being addressed by economists in the 1910s. By about 1960, these discussions had surprisingly modern concerns about causality but did not have modern econometric tools or data." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Garnero, Andrea & Claudio Lucifora (2021): Turning a "Blind Eye"? Compliance with Minimum Wage Standards and Employment. (IZA discussion paper 14456), Bonn, 42 S.

Abstract

"Turning a "blind eye" to non-compliance with minimum wage standards is sometimes presented as a pragmatic way to accommodate higher wages while not harming employment opportunities for workers employed in marginal firms. In this paper, we model firms' wage and employment decisions, and show that there may be a trade-off between non-compliance and employment. The main prediction of the model are empirically tested using data from the Italian labour force survey. We find evidence of a positive employment non-compliance effect, though elasticities are smaller than typically thought as employers internalize the expected costs of non-compliance. We also show that employment effects are larger at low levels of non-compliance (when the risk of being referred to court is very low). The implications for policy and the role of regulators in monitoring and sanctioning non-compliance are discussed." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Gavoille, Nicolas & Anna Zasova (2021): Minimum wage spike and income underreporting: a back-of-the-envelope-wage analysis. (SSE Riga/BICEPS research papers 7), Riga, 41 S.

Abstract

"The labor markets of many transition countries are characterized by two features: a spike at the minimum wage in wage distribution and widespread use of so-called envelope wages, i.e., non-declared cash coming in addition to the official wage. In this paper, we present a body of suggestive evidence highlighting the prevalence of wage underreporting among minimum wage earners. We study two minimum wage hikes implemented in Latvia in 2014 and 2015, and show that (i) minimum wage employees are more likely to survive these minimum wage hikes than employees earning slightly more, and (ii) minimum wage employees are more likely to switch to part-time work within the same firm than their peers earning slightly more. These effects are present in the sample of small (more prone to tax evasion) firms and are not found in the sample of big (less prone to tax evasion) firms. In addition, we show that minimum wage earners switching from employment in a small to a big firm enjoy a significantly larger wage gain than employees earning slightly more. Taken together, these results are consistent with tax evaders being overrepresented among minimum wage earners and are hard to rationalize otherwise." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Godoey, Anna & Michael Reich (2021): Are Minimum Wage Effects Greater in Low-Wage Areas? In: Industrial Relations, Jg. 60, H. 1, S. 36-83. DOI:10.1111/irel.12267

Abstract

"Empirical work on the minimum wage typically estimates effects averaged across high- and low-wage areas. Low-wage labor markets could potentially be less able to absorb minimum wage increases, in turn leading to more negative employment effects. In this article, we examine minimum wage effects in low-wage counties, where relative minimum wage ratios reach as high as 0.82, well beyond the state-based ratios in extant studies. Using data from the American Community Survey, the Quarterly Workforce Indicators, and the Quarterly Census on Employment and Wages, we implement event study and difference-in-differences methods, estimating average causal effects for all events in our sample and separately for areas with lower and higher impacts. We find positive wage effects, especially in high-impact counties, but do not detect adverse effects on employment, weekly hours, or annual weeks worked. We do not find negative employment effects among women, Blacks, and/or Hispanics. In high-impact counties, we find substantial declines in household and child poverty. These results inform policy debates about providing exemptions to a $15 federal minimum wage in low-wage areas." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Gopalan, Radhakrishnan, Barton Hamilton, Ankit Kalda & David Sovich (2021): State Minimum Wages, Employment, and Wage Spillovers: Evidence from Administrative Payroll Data. In: Journal of labor economics, Jg. 39, H. 3, S. 673-707. DOI:10.1086/711355

Abstract

"We use administrative payroll data to estimate the effect of the minimum wage on employment and wages. We find that both effects are nuanced. While the overall number of low-wage workers in firms declines, incumbent workers are no less likely to remain employed. We find that firms reduce employment primarily through hiring, and there is significant heterogeneity across the non-tradable and tradable sectors. For wages, we find modest spillovers extending up to $2.50 above the minimum wage. Spillovers accrue to both incumbent workers and new hires, but only within firms that employ a significant fraction of low-wage workers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Grossmann, Jakub (2021): The Effects of Minimum Wage Increases in the Czech Republic. (Working paper series / Czech National Bank 2021,2), Praha, 36 S.

Abstract

"This paper analyzes employment effects of four minimum wage increases implemented in the Czech Republic during 2012-2017, which cumulatively increased the national minimum wage by 37 percent. We analyze outcomes at the level of firm-occupation-county-specific job cells and apply an intensity-treatment estimator similar to that of Machin et al. (2003). Our preferred specifications suggest that minimum wage increases led to higher wages for low-paid workers and did not have significant impacts on their employment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Grünberger, Klaus, Edlira Narazani, Stefano Filauro & Áron Kiss (2021): Social and fiscal impacts of statutory minimum wages in EU countries. A microsimulation analysis with EUROMOD. (JRC working papers on taxation and structural reforms 2021-06), Seville, 44 S.

Abstract

"This paper analyses the first-round effects of hypothetical minimum wage increases on social outcomes in 21 EU countries with a statutory national minimum wage based on a microsimulation approach using EUROMOD. The methodological challenges related to the use of available EU household survey data are described, along with the choices made to address these challenges. The paper assesses hypothetical scenarios in which countries with a statutory national minimum wage increase their minimum wage to various reference values, set in relation to the gross national median and average wage. The model simulations suggest that minimum wage increases can significantly reduce in-work poverty, wage inequality and the gender pay gap, while generally improving the public budget balance. The implied wage increases for the beneficiaries are substantial, while the implied increases in the aggregate wage bill and, as a consequence, possible negative employment impacts, are generally modest." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Jha, Priyaranjan & Antonio Rodriguez-Lopez (2021): Minimum Wage and Firm Variety. (CESifo working paper 9312), München, 19 S.

Abstract

"Exploiting minimum-wage variation within multi-state commuting zones, we document a negative relationship between minimum wages and firm variety in the U.S. restaurant and retail-trade industries. To explain this finding, we construct a heterogeneous-firm model with a monopsonistic labor market and endogenous firm variety. The decentralized equilibrium underprovides the mass of firms compared to the outcome achieved by a welfare-maximizing planner. A binding minimum wage further reduces the mass of firms, exacerbating the distortion. Workers value employer variety, and thus, by reducing firm variety the minimum wage reduces workers’ welfare even if the average wage increases." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Kawaguchi, Daiji & Yuko Mori (2021): Estimating the Effects of the Minimum Wage Using the Introduction of Indexation. (IZA discussion paper 14086), Bonn, 47 S.

Abstract

"We examine the impacts of the minimum wage on employment using the minimum-wage hike induced by the introduction of indexation of the local minimum wage to the local cost of living. The revision of the Minimum Wage Act in 2007 of Japan essentially required the government to set the minimum wage indexed to the local cost of living, with a five-year moratorium period. The government subsequently increased the minimum wage in areas where the cost of living was high relative to the local minimum wage. Allowing for different trends in labor-market outcomes across regions in the pre-treatment period, we find that the minimum-wage hike raised the wages of low-wage workers, but reduced the employment of less-educated young men. A panel analysis based on matched Labor Force Survey data indicates that the minimum-wage hike decreased the job flows of prime-age men and women." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Lesch, Hagen, Helena Schneider & Christoph Schröder (2021): Mindestlohnanpassung und Living Wage. Was kann Deutschland von Frankreich und dem Vereinigten Königreich lernen? (IW-Analysen 145), Köln, 72 S.

Abstract

"Nach dem Mindestlohngesetz hat die Mindestlohnkommission die Aufgabe, alle zwei Jahre über eine Anpassung des Mindestlohns zu entscheiden. Neben einer Gesamtabwägung soll sie sich dabei nachlaufend an der Tariflohnentwicklung orientieren." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Leung, Justin H. (2021): Minimum Wage and Real Wage Inequality: Evidence from Pass-Through to Retail Prices. In: The Review of Economics and Statistics, Jg. 103, H. 4, S. 754-769. DOI:10.1162/rest_a_00915

Abstract

"This paper considers the impact of the minimum wage on both labor and product markets using detailed store-level scanner data. I provide empirical evidence that a 10% increase in the minimum wage raises grocery store prices by 0.6% to 0.8% and suggest that the minimum wage not only raises labor costs but also affects product demand, especially in poorer regions. This points to novel channels of heterogeneity in pass-through that have distributional consequences, with key implications for real wage inequality. I also find that price rigidity within retail chains ameliorates these effects, reducing the pass-through elasticity for retail prices by about 60%." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © MIT Press Journals) ((en))

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Lübker, Malte & Thorsten Schulten (2021): WSI-Mindestlohnbericht 2021. Ist Europa auf dem Weg zu angemessenen Mindestlöhnen? In: WSI-Mitteilungen, Jg. 74, H. 2 Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, S. 127-139. DOI:10.5771/0342-300X-2021-2-127

Abstract

"Ende 2020 hat die Europäische Kommission einen ersten Entwurf für eine Richtlinie über angemessene Mindestlöhne vorgelegt. Ausgangspunkt ist die Überlegung, dass die Mindestlöhne in fast allen Mitgliedsstaaten unter der international üblichen Schwelle von 60 % des Medianlohns bzw. 50 % des Durchschnittslohns liegen und damit für ein menschenwürdiges Leben nicht ausreichen. Der diesjährige WSI-Mindestlohnbericht dokumentiert, dass zum Erreichen dieser Richtwerte in den meisten Ländern deutliche Anhebungen der Mindestlöhne notwendig sind. Auch wenn das Wachstum der Mindestlöhne in der EU in diesem Jahr – bedingt durch die Corona-Pandemie – mit nur 3,1 % (nominal) bzw. 1,6 % (real) deutlich geringer ausfällt als in den Vorjahren, so zeigen internationale Erfahrungswerte, dass Mindestlohnsteigerungen in der erforderlichen Größenordnung mittelfristig ein realistisches Ziel sind. Von einer entsprechenden Anhebung der Mindestlöhne würden in der EU 25,3 Mio. Beschäftigten profitieren, davon 6,8 Mio. in Deutschland. Die Initiative der Europäischen Kommission verdeutlicht damit auch den politischen Handlungsbedarf in Deutschland, wo 60 % des Medianlohns einem Mindestlohn von ca. 12 € entsprechen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Lübker, Malte & Thorsten Schulten (2021): WSI-Mindestlohnbericht 2021. Ist Europa auf dem Weg zu angemessenen Mindestlöhnen? (WSI-Report 63), Düsseldorf, 18 S.

Abstract

"Angemessene Mindestlöhne für alle Beschäftigten in Europa sind das Ziel, das die Europäische Kommission mit einem Ende 2020 vorgestellten Richtlinienentwurf verfolgt. Um ein menschenwürdiges Einkommen zu ermöglichen, müssen die Mindestlöhne in nahezu allen EU-Mitgliedsländern erheblich steigen - ein mittelfristiges Vorhaben, welches nach Berechnungen der Kommission deutlich positive soziale Auswirkungen hätte. So würden mehr als 25 Mio. Beschäftigte in Europa davon profitieren, wenn die gesetzlichen Mindestlöhne auf 60 % des Medianlohns bzw. 50 % des Durchschnittslohns angehoben werden würden. Allein in Deutschland, wo 60 % des Medians einem Mindestlohn von rund 12 entsprechen, gäbe es gut 6,8 Mio. Begünstigte." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Maarek, Paul & Elliot Moiteaux (2021): Polarization, employment and the minimum wage: Evidence from European local labor markets. In: Labour Economics, Jg. 73. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2021.102076

Abstract

"The labor market is becoming increasingly polarized as routine jobs disappear. In the flexible US labor market, this has had a limited impact on employment due to the strong employment growth in low-paying manual occupations for workers who are not able to reallocate to high-paying abstract occupations. This may not be the case in some rigid wage European economies, which are capable of creating fewer low-paying manual jobs. We study the effect of a decrease in the proportion of routine jobs on employment and participation rates, conditionally on the level of the minimum wage, in European local labor markets. Our OLS and IV estimates show that the polarization process has a negative impact on employment and participation rates in high minimum wage countries only." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2022 Elsevier) ((en))

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Majchrowska, Aleksandra & Pawel Strawinski (2021): Minimum wage and local employment: A spatial panel approach. In: Regional Science Policy & Practice, Jg. 13, H. 5, S. 1581-1602. DOI:10.1111/rsp3.12471

Abstract

"This study analyzes spatial dependencies in the relationship between employment and minimum wage. Local employment may be affected not only by changes relative minimum wage in a region but also by those in neighboring regions. We use the spatial Durbin model and data for 380 local Polish labor markets during 2006–2018. The results reveal significant heterogeneities in the model, showing a significant spatial relationship between local employment and the minimum-to-average-wage ratio in neighboring regions. Local minimum wage effects, insignificant at the beginning of the analyzed period, become significant and negative. These results may not be observed without a spatial model framework and are important for minimum-wage policymakers. Our results suggest that, in countries with strong differences in average wage level between regions, the minimum wage can be differentiated at the local labor market level to avoid large differences in the minimum-to-average-wage ratio." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Manning, Alan (2021): The elusive employment effect of the minimum wage. In: The Journal of Economic Perspectives, Jg. 35, H. 1, S. 3-26. DOI:10.1257/jep.35.1.3

Abstract

"It is hard to find a negative effect on the employment effect of rises in the minimum wage: the elusive employment effect. It is much easier to find an impact on wages. This paper argues the elusive employment effect is unlikely to be solved by better data, methodology, or specification. The reasons for the elusive employment effect are the factors contributing to why the link between higher minimum wages and higher labor costs are weaker than one might think and because imperfect competition is pervasive in the labor market." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Martiskova, Monika, Marta Kahancová & Jakub Kostolný (2021): Negotiating wage (in)equality: changing union strategies in high-wage and low-wage sectors in Czechia and Slovakia. In: Transfer, Jg. 27, H. 1, S. 75-96. DOI:10.1177/1024258921995363

Abstract

"Wer Lohnungleichheit verringern will, muss die Bedeutung von Arbeitsmarktinstitutionen verstehen. Dies gilt besonders für gesetzliche Mindestlöhne und sektorale Tarifverhandlungen. Der vorliegende Artikel argumentiert, dass der Einfluss von Arbeitsmarktinstitutionen auf die Lohnungleichheit durch spezifische Strategien von Gewerkschaften und Arbeitgebern zusätzlich verstärkt wird. Hierzu werden empirische Daten aus der Automobilbranche (als Hochlohnsektor) und aus dem Einzelhandelssektor (für den Niedriglohnbereich) in Tschechien und der Slowakei ausgewertet. Vor dem Hintergrund der an Bedeutung verlierenden Tarifverhandlungen setzen Gewerkschaften stärker auf steigende nationale gesetzliche Mindestlöhne als Mechanismus, um Lohnungleichheiten zu verringern. Damit verfügen sie über ein Instrument, um ihren sinkenden Einfluss auf die Lohnverteilung durch Tarifverhandlungen auszugleichen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Maré, David C. & Dean Hyslop (2021): Minimum Wages in New Zealand: Policy and Practice in the 21st Century. (IZA discussion paper 14302), Bonn, 76 S.

Abstract

"New Zealand has seen dramatic changes in minimum wage policies since 2000. The adult minimum wage has increased 75% in CPI-adjusted real terms. In addition, the youth minimum wage was abolished in two stages, resulting in a 125% increase in the real minimum wage for 16–19-year-old workers. We review the motivations for minimum wages and the changes and analyse how they have affected workers outcomes. We find that the minimum wage now strongly determines the wages of teenage workers, with the minimum wage now at the median wage of teenagers, and over half of 16-17-year-olds, and about 40% of 18-19-year-olds, earning at or below the minimum. Although we find no clear evidence that increases in the minimum wage have led to adverse employment effects, we expect there are downside risks for youth and low skilled workers' employment. As minimum wage workers are broadly spread across the household income distribution, we conclude that minimum wages are largely ineffective as a redistributive income support policy." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Neumark, David & Peter Shirley (2021): Myth or Measurement: What Does the New Minimum Wage Research Say about Minimum Wages and Job Loss in the United States? (NBER working paper 28388), Cambridge, MA, 48 S. DOI:10.3386/w28388

Abstract

"The disagreement among studies of the employment effects of minimum wages in the United States is well known. What is less well known, and more puzzling, is the absence of agreement on what the research literature says – that is, how economists even summarize the body of evidence on the employment effects of minimum wages. Summaries range from “it is now well-established that higher minimum wages do not reduce employment,” to “the evidence is very mixed with effects centered on zero so there is no basis for a strong conclusion one way or the other,” to “most evidence points to adverse employment effects.” We explore the question of what conclusions can be drawn from the literature, focusing on the evidence using subnational minimum wage variation within the United States that has dominated the research landscape since the early 1990s. To accomplish this, we assembled the entire set of published studies in this literature and identified the core estimates that support the conclusions from each study, in most cases relying on responses from the researchers who wrote these papers. Our key conclusions are: (i) there is a clear preponderance of negative estimates in the literature; (ii) this evidence is stronger for teens and young adults as well as the less-educated; (iii) the evidence from studies of directly-affected workers points even more strongly to negative employment effects; and (iv) the evidence from studies of low-wage industries is less one-sided." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Neumark, David & Maysen Yen (2021): Effects of Recent Minimum Wage Policies in California and Nationwide. Results from a Pre-specified Analysis Plan. (NBER working paper 28555), Cambridge, MA, 68 S. DOI:10.3386/w28555

Abstract

"We analyze the impacts of recent city minimum wage increases in California and nationwide, following a pre-analysis plan (PAP) registered prior to the release of data covering two years of minimum wage increases. For California cities we find a hint of negative employment effects. Nationally, we find some evidence of disemployment effects for teens, but not young adults or high school dropouts. City-specific analyses provide limited evidence of adverse effects on the share low-income, but the pooled city analysis does not; the national analysis generally finds no impact on the share low-income, with one exception that may reflect prior trends." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Redmond, Paul, Karina Doorley & Seamus McGuinness (2021): The impact of a minimum wage change on the distribution of wages and household income. In: Oxford economic papers, Jg. 73, H. 3, S. 1034-1056. DOI:10.1093/oep/gpaa048

Abstract

"We use distribution regression analysis to study the impact of a 6% increase in the Irish minimum wage on the distribution of hourly wages and household income. Wage inequality, measured by the ratio of wages in the 90th and 10th percentiles and the 75th and 25th percentiles, decreased by approximately 8 and 4%, respectively. The results point towards wage spillover effects up to the 30th percentile of the wage distribution. We show that minimum wage workers are spread throughout the household income distribution and are often located in high-income households. Therefore, while we observe strong effects on the wage distribution, the impact of a minimum wage increase on the household income distribution is quite limited." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Ross, Jacqueline & John Welsh (2021): Understanding the "Tipped Minimum Wage": Critical Directions for US Policy Research. In: Social Policy and Society, Jg. 20, H. 2, S. 192-210. DOI:10.1017/S1474746420000214

Abstract

"With the 'gig economy' moving to the forefront of research on service labour, interest has heightened in the techniques of labour control that reproduce it. Taking tipping as just such a technique, this article explores critically the policy research around 'tipped' employment in the United States. In the United States, tipping is a legally recognised form of labour remuneration that informalises the wage relation, incentivises the worker in precarity, and internalises social relations of subordination. Understanding tipped work, its legal status, its operative logic, and the contradictions that arise within its framework, is a priority for relevant social policy analysis. The aims here are: 1) to set out the 'topography' of the policy landscape on tipping in the United States; and 2) to problematise the current scope of this policy literature in societal terms. This research will focus on the restaurant industry, but will establish its broader societal significance." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Simon, Andrew & Matthew Wilson (2021): Optimal minimum wage setting in a federal system. In: Journal of Urban Economics, Jg. 123. DOI:10.1016/j.jue.2021.103336

Abstract

"Minimum wages in the United States are jointly set by federal, state, and local governments, while many other countries have a single national policy. This paper studies the relative merits of centralized and decentralized policy setting. A binding policy is optimal if the benefits from redistribution outweigh the costs from migration, which are relatively steeper for local governments. Centralized policy, though uniform in practice, reduces horizontal migration externalities, which improves decentralized minimum wage setting. Our results therefore indicate that decentralized and centralized policy setting exhibit strategic complementarity; the extent of which depends on mobility and regional heterogeneity. We then calibrate a model of the continental US and find that joint policy setting leads to a small welfare gain over centralization, and closely resembles the social planner's optimal policies." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2021 Elsevier) ((en))

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Smith, Alexander A. (2021): The minimum wage and teen educational attainment. In: Labour Economics, Jg. 73. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2021.102061

Abstract

"Teen employment effects are central to the minimum wage debate, but important indirect effects on education receive relatively little attention. I investigate the effect of changes in the minimum wage on high school dropout decisions. Consistently across two sources of variation and three individual-level datasets, I find that increases in the minimum wage substantially reduce the dropout likelihood of low-socioeconomic status (SES) teens but have no effect on other teens." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2022 Elsevier) ((en))

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Vadean, Florin & Stephen Allan (2021): The Effects of Minimum Wage Policy on the Long-Term Care Sector in England. In: BJIR, Jg. 59, H. 2, S. 307-334. DOI:10.1111/bjir.12572

Abstract

"The increase in the National Minimum Wage rate in October 2015 and the introduction of the National Living Wage in April 2016 led, in a short period of time, to an aggregated increase in the wage floor of over 10 per cent for workers in England aged 25 and over. The long-term care (LTC) sector is a labour intensive, low pay sector, and as such, can be substantially affected by changes in minimum wage. We assessed the effects of this exogenous wage increase on independent LTC providers by looking at effects on wages, employment, weekly hours, and employment contracts. Using data from the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS) and applying a “before-after” analysis, we found that the substantial increase in minimum wage had a strong and positive effect on wages in the LTC sector, but with substantial compression of the wage distribution at the lower end. Although, as in other studies, the employment effect was rather elusive, we found that for care homes this can be partially explained by a negative effect on total weekly hours. We also found positive but short-term effects on employment without guaranteed working hours (i.e. zero-hour contracts) for both residential and domiciliary care." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Albinowski, Maciej & Piotr Lewandowski (2020): The Heterogenous Regional Effects of Minimum Wages in Poland. (IZA discussion paper 13412), 23 S.

Abstract

"Since 2008, Poland has been among the EU countries that have increased their minimum wage levels the most, following period in the mid-2000s during which the country's minimum wage was barely raised. We evaluate the impact of these minimum wage hikes on employment and wage growth in Poland between 2004 and 2018. We estimate panel data models utilising the considerable variation in wage levels, and in minimum wage bites, across 73 Polish NUTS 3 regions. We find that minimum wage hikes had a significant positive effect on wage growth and a significant negative effect on employment growth only in regions of Poland that were in the first tercile of the regional wage distribution in 2007. These effects were moderate in size, and appear to be more relevant for wages. Specifically, we show that if the ratio of minimum wage to average wage had remained constant after 2007, by 2018, the average wages in these regions would have been 3.4% lower, while employment would have been 1.2% higher. On the other hand, in the remaining two-thirds of Polish regions, we find no significant effects of minimum wage hikes on average wages or on employment. We also find indicative evidence that the effects on employment growth differ between groups of workers: i.e., that they are negative for men and for workers in industry, but they are positive for women and for workers in services." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bailey, Martha J., John DiNardo & Bryan A. Stuart (2020): The Economic Impact of a High National Minimum Wage: Evidence from the 1966 Fair Labor Standards Act. (NBER working paper 26926), Cambridge, Mass., 46 S. DOI:10.3386/w26926

Abstract

"This paper examines the short and longer-term economic effects of the 1966 Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) which increased the national minimum wage to its highest level of the 20th Century and extended coverage to an additional 9.1 million workers. Exploiting differences in the “bite” of the minimum wage due to regional variation in the standard of living and industry composition, this paper finds that the 1966 FLSA increased wages dramatically but reduced aggregate employment only modestly. However, the disemployment effects were significantly larger among African-American men, forty percent of whom earned below the new minimum wage in 1966." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Cho, Heepyung & Mark Borgschulte (2020): Minimum wages and retirement. In: ILR review, Jg. 73, H. 1, S. 153-177. DOI:10.1177/0019793919845861

Abstract

"The authors study the effect of the minimum wage on the employment outcomes and Social Security claiming of older US workers from 1983 to 2016. The probability of work at or near the minimum wage increases substantially near retirement, and previous researchers and policies suggest that older workers may be particularly vulnerable to any disemployment effects of the minimum wage. Results show no evidence that the minimum wage causes earlier retirements. Instead, estimates suggest that higher minimum wages increase earnings and may have small positive effects on the labor supply of workers in the key ages of 62 to 70. Consistent with increased earnings and delayed retirement, higher minimum wages decrease the number of Social Security beneficiaries and amount of benefits disbursed. The minimum wage appears to increase financial resources for workers near retirement." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Clemens, Jeffrey, Lisa B. Kahn & Jonathan Meer (2020): Dropouts Need Not Apply? The Minimum Wage and Skill Upgrading. (NBER working paper 27090), Cambridge, Mass., 66 S. DOI:10.3386/w27090

Abstract

"We explore whether minimum wage increases result in substitution from lower-skilled to slightly higher-skilled labor. Using 2011-2016 American Community Survey data (ACS), we show that workers employed in low-wage occupations are older and more likely to have a high school diploma following recent statutory minimum wage increases. To better understand the role of firms, we examine the Burning Glass vacancy data. We find increases in a high school diploma requirement following minimum wage hikes, consistent with our ACS evidence on stocks of employed workers. We see substantial adjustments to requirements both within and across firms." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Clemens, Jeffrey & Michael R. Strain (2020): Minimum wage analysis using a pre-committed research design. Evidence through 2018. (IZA discussion paper 13286), Bonn, 59 S.

Abstract

"This paper presents results from the fourth year of a multi-year, pre-committed research design for analyzing recent minimum wage changes. Using ACS and CPS data through 2018, we find that relatively large minimum wage increases reduced employment among low-skilled individuals by roughly 2.5 percentage points. The effects of smaller statutory increases and inflation-indexed increases vary across data sets and specifications, but are generally not distinguishable from zero. The relationship between minimum wage increases and employment is quite strongly negative in states that began enacting substantial increases between 2013 and 2015. In states that began enacting increases later in the economic expansion, estimates are more variable and tend towards zero." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Clemens, Jeffrey & Michael R. Strain (2020): Implications of schedule irregularity as a minimum wage response margin. In: Applied Economics Letters, Jg. 27, H. 20, S. 1691-1694. DOI:10.1080/13504851.2020.1713978

Abstract

"Empirical research on minimum wages has historically focused on employment effects, with the implicit assumption that workers who remain employed under a minimum wage regime are better off. This paper develops a simple model and a stylized example to highlight the importance of an underappreciated margin: how a minimum wage might affect the regularity of workers’ schedules. Our analysis illustrates a novel line of intuition for how a minimum wage can reduce welfare even if, as in our example, it increases wages, productivity, and output, without decreasing employment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Detragiache, Enrica, Christian H. Ebeke, La-Bhus Fah Jirasavetakul, Koralai Kirabaeva, Davide Malacrino, Florian Misch, Hyun Woo Park & Yu Shi (2020): A European Minimum Wage: Implications for Poverty and Macroeconomic Imbalances. (IMF working paper 2020,59), Washington, DC, 46 S.

Abstract

"A hypothetical European Minimum Wage (MW) set at 60 percent of each country's median wage would reduce in-work poverty but have limited effects on overall poverty, as many poor households do not earn a wage near MW and higher unemployment, higher prices, and a loss of social insurance benefits may erode direct benefits. Turning to competitiveness, since the MW increase to reach the European standard would be larger in euro area countries with excessive external surpluses, the associated real appreciation should help curb existing imbalances. However, a few countries with already weak external positions would experience an undesirable real appreciation." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Dube, Arindrajit & Attila S. Lindner (2020): City Limits: What do Local-Area Minimum Wages Do? (NBER working paper 27928), Cambridge, MA, 45 S. DOI:10.3386/w27928

Abstract

"Cities are increasingly setting their own minimum wages, and this trend has accelerated sharply in recent years. While in 2010 there were only three cities with their own minimum wages exceeding the state or federal standard, by 2020 there were 42. This new phenomenon begs the question: is it desirable to have city-level variation in minimum wage polices? We discuss the main trade-offs emerging from local variation in minimum wage polices and evaluate their empirical relevance. First, we document what type of cities raise minimum wages and we discuss how these characteristics can potentially impact the effectiveness of city-level minimum wage policies. Second, we summarize the evolving evidence on city-level minimum wage changes and provide some new evidence of our own. Early evidence suggests that the impact of the policy on wages and employment to date has been broadly similar to the evidence on state and federal-level minimum wage changes. Overall, city-level minimum wages seem to be able to tailor the policy to local economic environment without imposing substantial distortions in allocation of labor and businesses across locations." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Fahrenbruch, Walter (2020): Zur Anwendbarkeit des Mindestlohngesetzes beim grenzüberschreitenden Gütertransport. (Studien zum deutschen und europäischen Arbeitsrecht 85), Baden-Baden: Nomos, 234 S. DOI:10.5771/9783748910435

Abstract

"Die Arbeit behandelt Frage, ob bei ausländischen Lkw-Fahrern/-innen, die in Erfüllung ihrer Arbeitspflicht lediglich durch das deutsche Gebiet fahren oder sich dorthin zur Be- und/oder Entladung begeben und es wieder verlassen, für die Zeit ihres Aufenthaltes in Deutschland das deutsche Mindestlohngesetz Anwendung findet. Zunächst wird die Anwendbarkeit des deutschen Mindestlohngesetzes nach den Vorgaben des internationalen Privatrechts untersucht. Sodann wird die Vereinbarkeit einer umfassenden Geltung des Mindestlohngesetzes im Lichte des Europarechts geprüft. Letztlich wird erörtert, welchen Nutzen eine umfassende Geltung für das betroffene ausländische Fahrpersonal tatsächlich hätte." (Autorenreferat, © Nomos)

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Fang, Tony, Morley Gunderson & Carl Lin (2020): The Impact of Minimum Wages on Wages, Wage Spillovers, and Employment in China: Evidence from Longitudinal Individual-Level Data. (IZA discussion paper 13878), 35 S.

Abstract

"We use the substantial variation in both the magnitude and frequency of minimum wage changes that have occurred in China since its new minimum wage regulations in 2004 to estimate their impact on wages, wage spillovers, and employment. We use county-level minimum wage data merged with individual-level longitudinal data from the Urban Household Survey for the period 2004–09, spanning the period after the new minimum wage regulations were put in place. Our results indicate that minimum wage increases raise the wages of otherwise low-wage workers by a little less than half (41%) of the minimum wage increases. Depending upon the specification, these wage effects also lead to a 2 to 4 percentage point reduction in the probability of being employed, with a 2.8 percentage point reduction being our preferred estimate. We also find statistically significant but very small wage spillovers for those whose wages are just above the new minimum wage, but they are effectively zero for those higher up in the wage distribution." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Fishback, Price V. & Andrew Seltzer (2020): The Rise of American Minimum Wages, 1912-1968. (NBER working paper 26937), Cambridge, Mass., 34 S. DOI:10.3386/w26937

Abstract

"We describe the economic history of the rise of the American minimum wage between 1910 and 1968. Each new FLSA amendment led to a new peak in the real purchasing power of the national minimum. Exemptions to the FLSA were progressively closed and the share of workers covered finally increased from about 50 percent of the private sector workforce in 1937, to 77 percent of the private sector and 40 percent of the public sector workforce in 1966. By the late 1970s coverage was nearly complete, with only the smallest employers exempted. We describe the political economic history of the minimum wage laws, as well as the debates among economists. Another key feature is a renewed emphasis on the roles played by the states in passing the original minimum wage laws for women. The states filled some of the gaps in coverage left by the FLSA after 1938 and set higher minimum rates for women in some sectors in the 1940s and 1950s than the FLSA set for men and women in interstate commerce. Since 1981 a rising number of states have set general minimum wages that substantially exceed the national minimum." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Georgiadis, Andreas, Ioannis Kaplanis & Vassilis Monastiriotis (2020): Minimum wages and firm employment: Evidence from a minimum wage reduction in Greece. In: Economics Letters, Jg. 193. DOI:10.1016/j.econlet.2020.109255

Abstract

"We investigate firm heterogeneity in responses to minimum wage changes leveraging on a policy reform in 2012 in Greece that introduced a youth sub-minimum through a sharp reduction in the minimum wage that was larger for youth. Using administrative linked employer–employee panel data and a difference-in-differences estimator, we find that, although wages decreased across all firms following the policy reform, adult wages decreased by more, whereas youth wages decreased by less in firms with a higher share of youth in employment. We also find that, in these firms, adult employment increased by more, while youth employment increased by less or even decreased and that these changes reflected mainly new hires rather than job separations. These heterogeneous responses to the change in the minimum wage across firms are not entirely consistent with the competitive model of the labour market." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2020 Elsevier) ((en))

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Gerritsen, Aart & Bas Jacobs (2020): Is a minimum wage an appropriate instrument for redistribution? In: Economica, Jg. 87, H. 347, S. 611–637. DOI:10.1111/ecca.12323

Abstract

"We analyse the redistributional (dis)advantages of a minimum wage over income taxation in competitive labour markets without imposing assumptions on the (in)efficiency of labour rationing. Compared to a distributionally equivalent tax change, a minimum-wage increase raises involuntary unemployment, but also raises skill formation as some individuals avoid unemployment. A minimum wage is an appropriate instrument for redistribution if and only if the public revenue gains from additional skill formation outweigh both the public revenue losses from additional unemployment and the utility losses of inefficient labour rationing. We show that this critically depends on how labour rationing is distributed among workers. A necessary condition for the desirability of a minimum-wage increase is that the public revenue gains from higher skill formation outweigh the revenue losses from higher unemployment. We write this condition in terms of measurable sufficient statistics." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Haepp, Tobias & Carl Lin (2020): How Does the Minimum Wage Affect Firm Investments in Fixed and Human Capital? Evidence from China. In: C. Lin & S. Li (Hrsg.): Minimum Wages in China: Evolution, Legislation, and Effects (2020), Singapore, Springer Singapore S. 281-313, 2020-02-28. DOI:10.1007/978-981-15-2421-9_11

Abstract

"This chapter empirically analyzes the impact of Chinese minimum wage regulations on the firm decision to invest in physical and human capital. It exploits the geographical and inter-temporal variations of county-level minimum wages in a panel data set of all state-owned and all above-scale non-state-owned Chinese firms covering the introduction of the new Chinese minimum wage regulations in 2004. In the basic regressions including all Chinese firms, the authors find significant negative effects of the minimum wage on human capital investment rates and no overall effects on fixed capital investment rates. When grouping firms by their ownership structure, the authors find that these results hold for most firms, the only exceptions being that foreign-owned and state-owned firms have not reduced their human capital investment rates." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Işık, Enes, Özgür Orhangazi & Hasan Tekgüç (2020): Heterogeneous effects of minimum wage on labor market outcomes: A case study from Turkey. In: IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Jg. 10, H. 1. DOI:10.2478/izajolp-2020-0016

Abstract

"We assess the effects of a sharp minimum wage increase on wages, informality, and employment in Turkey, a large developing economy with one of the highest minimum wage-to-average wage ratios among OECD countries and widespread discrepancies between labor market outcomes of women and of men. We look at the quasi-experimental 2016 minimum wage increase and pay attention to identifying information coming from demographic groups. We find that the increase in the minimum wage had an economically substantial and statistically significant positive impact on wages. Despite the positive wage effects of the increase, we find no negative employment effects. However, we show that the minimum wage increase may have caused an increase in the share of informal employment among workers with less than tertiary education, especially for such workers working for small firms." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Kandilov, Amy M. G. & Ivan T. Kandilov (2020): The minimum wage and seasonal employment. Evidence from the US agricultural sector. In: Journal of regional science, Jg. 60, H. 4, S. 612-627. DOI:10.1111/jors.12474

Abstract

"Nearly 40% of agricultural workers in the United States earn an hourly wage that is within 10% of the prevailing state‐level minimum wage. We evaluate the impact of the minimum wage on farm employment using county‐level data from the United States Census of Agriculture. We employ long‐differences specifications and find evidence of a dynamic, negative effect of the minimum wage on seasonal agricultural employment, but no effect on year‐round agricultural employment. We estimate a long‐run elasticity of total agricultural employment with respect to the minimum wage of about −0.40, which is both statistically and economically significant. Employers’ total expenditures on hired agricultural workers are not affected by the minimum wage. Finally, our analysis suggests that increases in minimum wages may lead to higher capital investment as well as the consolidation of farming operations in the agricultural sector." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2020 Policy Press) ((en))

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Kreiner, Claus Thustrup, Daniel Reck & Peer Ebbesen Skov (2020): Do Lower Minimum Wages for Young Workers Raise Their Employment? Evidence from a Danish Discontinuity. In: The Review of Economics and Statistics, Jg. 102, H. 2, S. 339-354. DOI:10.1162/rest_a_00825

Abstract

"We estimate the impact of youth minimum wages on youth employment by exploiting a large discontinuity in Danish minimum wage rules at age 18, using monthly payroll records for the Danish population. The hourly wage jumps by 40% at the discontinuity. Employment falls by 33%, and total input of hours decreases by 45%, leaving the aggregate wage payment almost unchanged. We show theoretically how the discontinuity may be exploited to evaluate policy changes. The relevant elasticity for evaluating the effect on youth employment of changes in their minimum wage is in the range 0.6 to 1.1." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © MIT Press Journals) ((en))

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Kucera, Tomas (2020): Are Employment Effects of Minimum Wage the Same Across the EU? A Meta-Regression Analysis. (IEW working paper / Institut Ekonomických Studií (Prag) 2020,02), Praha, 39 S.

Abstract

"There is still an ongoing debate on employment effects of minimum wage. Not only the magnitude, but also the direction of the effect is a matter of concern. Economic theory on its own cannot unanimously resolve the dispute as it provides concepts within which both negative and positive effects are conceivable. In order to integrate the empirical findings, I deployed a meta-regression analysis (MRA) to systematically review 187 estimates from 18 empirical studies that estimated minimum wage elasticities of employment for countries of the EU. The results show that, overall, there is no practically significant employment effect of minimum wage. Also, no evidence of publication selection bias was found. A more sophisticated, multivariate MRA identified differential effects for specific industries, namely residential home care and retail sector for which the employment effects are significantly negative. The results also indicate that minimum wage negatively affects female employment. Finally, the multiple MRA also investigated whether the employment effects differ across three wider regions of the EU (the West, the South, and the East). The results provide robust evidence of significant differential effects, and show that minimum wage has moderately negative employment effects in the eastern countries of the EU." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Lavecchia, Adam M. (2020): Minimum wage policy with optimal taxes and unemployment. In: Journal of Public Economics, Jg. 190. DOI:10.1016/j.jpubeco.2020.104228

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Mansoor, Kashif & Donal O'Neill (2020): Minimum Wage Compliance and Household Welfare: An Analysis of over 1500 Minimum Wages. (IZA discussion paper 13298), 73 S.

Abstract

"Minimum wages are increasingly being used in developing countries as a policy to combat exploitation of workers and raise living standards. However, in many developing countries there is a substantial difference between de jure and de facto regulation. We examine the consequences of imperfect compliance by looking at the heterogenous effects of minimum wages across compliance regimes in India from 1999-2011. We find noncompliance rates as high as 90% for some unskilled workers in India. We show that minimum wages have a positive effect on wages, without a corresponding effect on employment. As a result, household consumption increases following increases in the minimum wage; however, compliance matters. The beneficial pass-through of higher minimum wages to wages and consumption is significantly reduced in low compliance regimes. Our findings imply that labour market reforms have the potential to significantly improve workers' living standards in developing countries but only if accompanied by effective enforcement mechanisms." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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McGuinness, Seamus, Paul Redmond & Judith Delaney (2020): Minimum wage non-compliance: Evidence from Ireland. (IZA discussion paper 12884), Bonn, 11 S.

Abstract

"We use a unique question from the Irish Labour Force Survey that captures the reasons for workers being paid below the minimum wage. Compared to existing work, this allows us to more precisely identify sub-minimum wage workers. We find that 5.6 percent of minimum wage workers are paid below the minimum wage for reasons other than those permitted under legislation. This is considerably lower than estimates reported in the existing literature." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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McGuinness, Seamus, Paul Redmond & Judith Delaney (2020): Minimum wage non-compliance. In: Applied Economics Letters, Jg. 27, H. 20, S. 1663-1666. DOI:10.1080/13504851.2020.1711503

Abstract

"We use a unique question from the Irish Labour Force Survey that captures the reasons for workers being paid below the minimum wage. Compared to existing work, this allows us to more precisely identify sub-minimum wage workers. We find that 5.6 percent of minimum wage workers are paid below the minimum wage for reasons other than those permitted under legislation. This is considerably lower than estimates reported in the existing literature." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Munguía Corella, Luis F. (2020): Minimum wages in monopsonistic labor markets. (SocArXiv Papers), 43 S. DOI:10.31235/osf.io/abpj9

Abstract

"Over the last 30 years, researchers have disputed the mixed evidence of the effect of the minimum wage on teenage employment in the U.S. Whenever the minimum wage has positive or no effects on employment, they appeal to monopsony models to explain their results. However, none of these studies have empirically tested whether their results are due to monopsonistic characteristics in the labor markets. In this paper, I estimate the effects of the minimum wage under concentrated labor markets and low-mobility jobs (two variables that measure monopsony), identify heterogeneous effects among different scenarios derived from the monopsony model, and provide a plausible explanation of the mixed results about the minimum wage effects in the literature. My main findings indicate that minimum wages have an elasticity to teenage employment between -0.333 and -2.3 under perfect competition, which is, as expected, much higher than the usual results in the literature. If the monopsony variable is one standard deviation higher than the baseline, it implies a positive change in elasticity between 0.07 and 0.18. The minimum wage has a positive effect between 0.69 and 0.90 under full monopsonistic labor markets. The results are consistent among different specifications and controlling for possible endogeneity and external shocks to the HHI." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Plá, Nuria Badenes & Borja Gambau-Suelves (2020): The New “Minimum Vital Income” in Spain: Distributional and Poverty Effects in the Presence and Absence of Regional Minimum Income Schemes. (EUROMOD working paper 2020,22), Cambridge, 24 S.

Abstract

"The “Minimum Vital Income” (IMV) constitutes a novelty in the panorama for fighting poverty by guaranteeing minimum incomes after the COVID-19 crisis. This work simulates the distributional and poverty effects of the IMV introduction across Spanish regions using EUROMOD. Our results show that the IMV reduces inequality and poverty – general and extreme - for all regions. The regional minimum income schemes (RMI) have been a fundamental measure to fight poverty in Spain from the regional level, although this power has not been as effective as it was expected in reducing inequality. This work also simulates the effects on inequality and poverty that the elimination of current RMI and the introduction of the new IMV would generate. Considering the simultaneous introduction of IMV and RMI elimination, the negative effects of RMI would be offset by positive effects of IMV, leading also to a big additional saving for the Spanish Public Accounts." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Pérez Pérez, Jorge (2020): City Minimum Wages and Spatial Equilibrium Effects. (SocArXiv papers), 73 S. DOI:10.31235/osf.io/fpx9e

Abstract

"Local minimum wage laws are becoming common across U.S. cities, and their effects may be different from the effects of state or national minimum wage policies. This paper studies the effect of changes in the minimum wage on spatial equilibriums in local labor markets. Using residence and workplace data for the United States, I analyze how commuting, residence, and employment locations change across city and state borders if the minimum wage changes on one side of the border. I find that areas in which the minimum wage increases receive fewer low-wage commuters. A 10 percent increase in the minimum wage reduces the inflow of low-wage commuters by about 2.5 percent. Rises in the minimum wage are also associated with employment relocation across borders toward areas that did not witness an increase in the minimum wage. I formulate a spatial equilibrium gravity model to explain the distribution of workers between low- and high-minimum wage areas. I calculate counterfactual equilibriums with a higher minimum wage for U.S. counties with cities considering an increase, highlighting the role of commuting and migration responses. About two-fifths of the counties considering increases would receive fewer low-wage commuters. Employment relocation away from high-minimum wage areas drives the commuting losses." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Redmond, Paul, Karina Doorley & Seamus McGuinness (2020): The impact of a minimum wage change on the distribution of wages and household income. (IZA discussion paper 12914), Bonn, 30 S.

Abstract

"We use distributional regression analysis to study the impact of a six percent increase in the Irish minimum wage on the distribution of hourly wages and household income. Wage inequality, measured by the ratio of wages in the 90th and 10th percentiles and the 75th and 25th percentiles, decreased by approximately eight percent and four percent respectively. For young workers, aged under 25, the effects were far greater, with a 24 percent reduction in the ratio of wages in the 90th and 10th percentiles. The results point towards wage spillover effects up to the 30th percentile of the wage distribution. We show that minimum wage workers are spread throughout the household income distribution and are often located in high-income households. Therefore, while we observe strong effects on the wage distribution, the impact of a minimum wage increase on the household income distribution is quite limited." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Roth, Duncan (2020): Nichteinhaltung des Mindestlohns in Deutschland. Stellungnahme des IAB zur öffentlichen Anhörung des Ausschusses für Arbeit, Gesundheit und Soziales im Landtag Nordrhein-Westfalen am 9.9.2020. (IAB-Stellungnahme 07/2020), Nürnberg, 11 S.

Abstract

"Seit dem 1. Januar 2015 gilt in Deutschland ein einheitlicher gesetzlicher Mindestlohn. Zwar belegen Forschungsergebnisse einen positiven Effekt auf Löhne am unteren Ende der Lohnverteilung, der mit der Einführung des Mindestlohns einhergeht. Dieser Befund bedeutet jedoch nicht, dass es keine Unterschreitung des Mindestlohns gibt. Wie viele Personen unterhalb der Mindestlohngrenze bezahlt werden, ist bisher nicht abschließend geklärt worden. Die Einschätzungen zu dieser Frage reichen von etwa 483.000 Personen im Jahr 2018 bis zu 2,4 Millionen Personen. In dieser Stellungnahme werden die Schwierigkeiten beschrieben, das Ausmaß der Nichteinhaltung mit den vorliegenden Datensätzen abzuschätzen. Für eine bessere Einordnung werden darüber hinaus entsprechende Einschätzungen zur Mindestlohnunterschreitung aus anderen Ländern zusammengefasst. Abschließend werden aktuelle Erkenntnisse zur Frage beschrieben, inwiefern die Aufzeichnungspflicht dazu beiträgt, das Ausmaß der Nichteinhaltung zu reduzieren." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Schulten, Thorsten & Malte Lübker (2020): WSI-Mindestlohnbericht 2020. Europäische Mindestlohninitiative vor dem Durchbruch? (WSI-Report 55), Düsseldorf, 15 S.

Abstract

"2020 könnte in Europa das Jahr des Mindestlohns werden. Erstmals hat die Europäische Kommission die Initiative für eine europäische Mindestlohnpolitik ergriffen, um überall in Europa "gerechte", d. h. armutsfeste und existenzsichernde Mindestlöhne durchzusetzen. Zugleich werden in vielen EU-Staaten Diskussionen über eine deutlich stärkere Anhebung der Mindestlöhne auf nationaler Ebene geführt. Die Debatte in Deutschland über einen Mindestlohn von 12 Euro ist folglich kein Einzelfall, sondern fügt sich ein in ein europäisches Entwicklungsmuster, das schon seit einigen Jahren eine Tendenz zu deutlich höheren Mindestlohnzuwächsen aufweist. Eine europäische Mindestlohnpolitik könnte den Trend zu höheren Mindestlöhnen weiter beschleunigen und die verschiedenen nationalen Initiativen in eine europäische Gesamtstrategie einbetten." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Alsos, Kristin, Kristine Nergaard & Andreas van den Heuvel (2019): Collective bargaining as a tool to ensure a living wage. Experiences from the Nordic countries. In: Transfer, Jg. 25, H. 3, S. 351-365. DOI:10.1177/1024258919861202

Abstract

"Im Gegensatz zu vielen angelsächsischen Ländern haben die nordischen Länder bisher keine öffentliche Debatte über Living Wages geführt. Das bedeutet jedoch nicht, dass ihnen der Begriff des Living Wage fremd ist. In diesem Artikel untersuchen wir, inwiefern Lohnfindungsmechanismen in den nordischen Ländern einen Living Wage für alle Arbeitnehmer fördern und sichern, und wie die Gewerkschaften an das Konzept des Living Wages herangegangen sind." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Azar, José, Emiliano Huet-Vaughn, Ioana Marinescu, Bledi Taska & Till von Wachter (2019): Minimum wage employment effects and labor market concentration. (NBER working paper 26101), Cambrige, Mass., 40 S. DOI:10.3386/w26101

Abstract

"Why is the employment effect of the minimum wage frequently found to be close to zero? Theory tells us that when wages are below marginal productivity, as with monopsony, employers are able to increase wages without laying off workers, but systematic evidence directly supporting this explanation is lacking. In this paper, we provide empirical support for the monopsony explanation by studying a key low-wage retail sector and using data on labor market concentration that covers the entirety of the United States with fine spatial variation at the occupation-level. We find that more concentrated labor markets - where wages are more likely to be below marginal productivity - experience significantly more positive employment effects from the minimum wage. While increases in the minimum wage are found to significantly decrease employment of workers in low concentration markets, minimum wage-induced employment changes become less negative as labor concentration increases, and are even estimated to be positive in the most highly concentrated markets. Our findings provide direct empirical evidence supporting the monopsony model as an explanation for the near-zero minimum wage employment effect documented in prior work. They suggest the aggregate minimum wage employment effects estimated thus far in the literature may mask heterogeneity across different levels of labor market concentration." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Boffy-Ramirez, Ernest (2019): The short-run effects of the minimum wage on employment and labor market participation. Evidence from an individual-level panel. (IZA discussion paper 12137), Bonn, 43 S.

Abstract

"Neumark, Salas, and Wascher (2014) succinctly summarize the empirical challenges researchers of the minimum wage face: 'the identification of minimum wage effects requires both a sufficiently sharp focus on potentially affected workers and the construction of a valid counterfactual control group for what would have happened absent increases in the minimum wage.' The difficulty of addressing these two challenges is evident in the variety of empirical approaches seen in the literature. In this paper, I address the latter of the issues in a manner nearly absent in the minimum wage literature by taking advantage of individual-level longitudinal data to observe the impacts of minimum wage changes on unemployment and labor force participation. Using within-individual variation and short 4-month panels, I control for heterogeneity at the individual level that determines unemployment and labor force participation. Specifically, the empirical strategy controls any fixed individual-specific idiosyncrasies and differential exposure to time-invariant economic shocks. This differs significantly from previous literature that exploits within-state variation. The short-run impacts of the minimum wage are assessed using monthly data, instead of yearly or quarterly data, which allows for the analysis of contemporaneous minimum wage effects. There is no evidence of an increase in unemployment immediately following a minimum wage increase. In addition, it does not appear that employers are substituting full-time workers with part-time workers. That said, there is robust evidence that immediately following a minimum wage increase, labor force participation decreases." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bossler, Mario & Jakob Wegmann (2019): The German generation internship and the minimum wage introduction: Evidence from big data. In: Applied Economics, Jg. 51, H. 16, S. 1730-1747., 2018-09-19. DOI:10.1080/00036846.2018.1528339

Abstract

"The new German minimum wage applies a specific exemption clause for internships, where internships that last up to three months are exempted while internships that exceed three months are due to the minimum wage. Negative minimum wage effects on internships are heavily debated as internships are mostly non-productive. Difference-in-difference analyses that exploit establishment and regional variation in the bite of the minimum wage do not show a reduction in the number of internships. In addition, we pursue an innovative approach by using Google search data to analyse how the search intensity for internships changed in course of the minimum wage introduction. Difference-in-difference comparisons with other countries in Europe do not reveal an effect on the search for internship positions in general, but we observe a significant reduction in Google search for 'generation internship'. This suggests that the underlying societal phenomenon of a generation entering internships without a perspective for regular jobs has lost in relevance." (Author's abstract, Publisher information) ((en))

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Brewer, Mike, Thomas Crossley & Federico Zilio (2019): What do we really know about the employment effects of the UK's national minimum wage? (IZA discussion paper 12369), Bonn, 34 S.

Abstract

"A substantial body of research on the UK's National Minimum Wage (NMW) has concluded that the the NMW has not had a detrimental effect on employment. This research has directly influenced, through the Low Pay Commission, the conduct of policy, including the subsequent introduction of the National Living Wage (NLW). We revisit this literature and offer a reassessment, motivated by two concerns. First, much of this literature employs difference-in-difference designs, even though there are significant challenges in conducting appropriate inference in such designs, and they can have very low power when inference is conducted appropriately. Second, the literature has focused on the binary outcome of statistical rejection of the null hypothesis, without attention to the range of (positive or negative) impacts on employment that are consistent with the data. In our re-analysis of the data, we conduct inference using recent suggestions for best practice and consider what magnitude of employment effects the data can and cannot rule out. We find that the data are consistent with both large negative and small positive impacts of the UK National Minimum Wage on employment. We conclude that the existing data, combined with difference-in-difference designs, in fact offered very little guidance to policy makers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Brown, Charles C. & Daniel S. Hamermesh (2019): Wages and hours laws: What do we know? What can be done? (IZA discussion paper 12410), Bonn, 32 S.

Abstract

"We summarize recent research on the wage and employment effects of minimum wage laws in the U.S. and infer from non-U.S. studies of hours laws the likely effects of unchanging U.S. hours laws. Minimum wages in the U.S. have increasingly become a province of state governments, with the effective minimum wage now closely related to a state's wage near the lower end of its wage distribution. Original estimates demonstrate how the 45-year failure to increase the exempt earnings level for salaried workers under U.S. hours laws has raised hours of lower-earning salaried workers and reduced their weekly earnings. The overall conclusion from the literature and the original work is that wages and hours laws in the U.S. have produced impacts in the directions predicted by economic theory, but that these effects have been quite small." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Cardoso, Ana Rute (2019): Long-term impact of minimum wages on workers' careers. Evidence from two decades of longitudinal linked employer - employee data. In: The Scandinavian journal of economics, Jg. 121, H. 4, S. 1337-1380. DOI:10.1111/sjoe.12327

Abstract

"We analyze the impact of high youth minimum wages relying on two decades of linked employer-employee data and a major law change. Alternative treatment/control groups follow from two strands of the literature, namely: the one tracking low-skilled workers employed before the law change, who are eligible to a large wage increase; the one tracking employment of full cohorts, whether working or in school when the law changed. High minimum wages led to a short-run wage gain, which faded over time. They did not jeopardize employment prospects. Changes in hours worked by part-timers point to increased job attachment." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Cengiz, Doruk, Arindrajit Dube, Attila Lindner & Ben Zipperer (2019): The effect of minimum wages on low-wage jobs. In: The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Jg. 134, H. 3, S. 1405-1454. DOI:10.1093/qje/qjz014

Abstract

"We estimate the effect of minimum wages on low-wage jobs using 138 prominent state-level minimum wage changes between 1979 and 2016 in the United States using a difference-in-differences approach. We first estimate the effect 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 effect. 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 effect 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 tradeable sectors. We also show how decomposing the overall employment effect by wage bins allows a transparent way of assessing the plausibility of estimates." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Chava, Sudheer, Alexander Oettl & Manpreet Singh (2019): Does a One-Size-Fits-All Minimum Wage Cause Financial Stress for Small Businesses? (NBER working paper 26523), Cambridge, Mass., 68 S. DOI:10.3386/w26523

Abstract

"Do increases in federal minimum wage impact the financial health of small businesses? Using intertemporal variation in whether a state’s minimum wage is bound by the federal rate and credit-score data for approximately 15.2 million establishments for the period 1989–2013, we find that increases in the federal minimum wage worsen the financial health of small businesses in the affected states. Small, young, labor-intensive, minimum-wage sensitive establishments located in the states bound to the federal minimum wage and those located in competitive and low-income areas experience higher financial stress. Increases in the minimum wage also lead to lower bank credit, higher loan defaults, lower employment, a lower entry and a higher exit rate for small businesses. The results are robust to using nearest-neighbor matching and geographic regression discontinuity design. Our results document some potential costs of a one-size-fits-all nationwide minimum wage, and we highlight how it can have an adverse effect on the financial health of some small businesses." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Churchill, Brandyn F. & Joseph J. Sabia (2019): The effects of minimum wages on low-skilled immigrants' wages, employment, and poverty. In: Industrial relations, Jg. 58, H. 2, S. 275-314. DOI:10.1111/irel.12232

Abstract

"Raising the minimum wage has been advanced as complementary policy to comprehensive immigration reform to improve low-skilled immigrants' economic well-being. While adverse labor demand effects could undermine this goal, existing studies do not detect evidence of negative employment effects. We re-investigate this question using data from the 1994 to 2016 Current Population Survey and conclude that minimum wage increases reduced employment of less-educated Hispanic immigrants, with estimated elasticities of around - 0.1. However, we also ?nd that the wage and employment effects of minimum wages on low-skilled immigrants diminished over the last decade. This ?nding is consistent with more restrictive state immigration policies and the Great Recession inducing outmigration of low-skilled immigrants, as well as immigrants moving into the informal sector. Finally, our results show that raising the minimum wage is an ineffective policy tool for reducing poverty among immigrants." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Cooper, Daniel, María José Luengo-Prado & Jonathan A. Parker (2019): The local aggregate effects of minimum wage increases. (NBER working paper 25761), Cambrige, Mass., 59 S. DOI:10.3386/w25761

Abstract

"Using variation in minimum wages across cities and controlling for differences in business-cycle factors and long-run local economic trends, we find that following minimum wage increases, both prices and nominal spending rise modestly. These gains are larger for certain sub-categories of goods such as food away from home and in locations where low-wage workers are a larger share of employment. Further, minimum wage increases are associated with reduced total debt among households with low credit scores, higher auto debt, and increased access to credit." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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D'Arcy, Connor & David Finch (2019): The calculation of a living wage: The UK's experience. In: Transfer, Jg. 25, H. 3, S. 301-317. DOI:10.1177/1024258919847313

Abstract

"Das theoretische Konzept eines living wage in der Praxis in konkrete Zahlen umzusetzen, ist mit einer Reihe von Problemen verbunden. Eine vor kurzem durchgeführte Übersicht über die Vorgehensweisen in Großbritannien hat sich näher damit befasst, um zu einer einheitlichen und verbesserten Berechnungsgrundlage zu kommen. Die Ausgestaltung eines living wage hängt von einer Reihe technischer Entscheidungen zum Beispiel darüber ab, welche Datenquellen am besten zur Berechnung geeignet sind. Viele der Grundlagen jedoch, auf denen ein living wage basiert, erfordern eine Festlegung auf gesellschaftliche Werte, Erwartungen und Normen. Die Höhe des living wage in Großbritannien wird auf voluntaristischer Basis festgelegt und von Kampagnengruppen diskutiert und unterstützt; jede Methodik muss also auf soliden empirischen Erkenntnissen beruhen, gleichzeitig aber auch die Realitäten berücksichtigen, mit denen Arbeitgeber konfrontiert werden. Es kann also keine perfekte Vorgehensweise geben. Durch Analysen, Anhörung von Interessengruppen und eine klare Governancestruktur bietet die in London und im Rest Großbritanniens verwendete Methode ein belastbares, anerkanntes und zeitgemäßes Verfahren, um das für einen angemessenen Lebensstandard erforderliche Einkommen zu berechnen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Dingeldey, Irene (2019): Mindestlöhne und Tarifpolitik in den Branchen. Ein deutsch-niederländischer Vergleich. In: N. Burzan (Hrsg.) (2019): Komplexe Dynamiken globaler und lokaler Entwicklungen, Göttingen, S. 1-10.

Abstract

"Der Beitrag untersucht die Frage, ob der Einfluss des Mindestlohns auf die Tarifpolitik innerhalb eines Landes sich nach Branchen differenziert. Um diese Frage zu beantworten, werden die Metall- und Elektroindustrie, die Gebäudereinigung und der Einzelhandel in Deutschland und den Niederlanden vergleichend analysiert. Dabei lehnen wir uns an die vorliegende Typologie von Grimshaw und Bosch (2013) bzw. Bosch und Weinkopf (2013) an, um mögliche Differenzen zwischen den Ländern und Branchen zu identifizieren. Berücksichtigt wird auch, inwiefern die beobachteten Wechselwirkungen dazu beitragen, dass die untersten Tariflöhne in den Branchen über der Niedriglohnschwelle liegen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Dube, Arindrajit (2019): Minimum wages and the distribution of family incomes. In: American Economic Journal. Applied Economics, Jg. 11, H. 4, S. 268-304. DOI:10.1257/app.20170085

Abstract

"There is robust evidence that higher minimum wages increase family incomes at the bottom of the distribution. The long-run (3 or more years) minimum wage elasticity of the non-elderly poverty rate with respect to the minimum wage ranges between -0.220 and -0.459 across alternative specifications. The long-run minimum wage elasticities for the tenth and fifteenth unconditional quantiles of family income range between 0.152 and 0.430 depending on specification. A reduction in public assistance partly offsets these income gains, which are on average 66 percent as large when using an expanded income definition including tax credits and noncash transfers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Even, William E. & David A. Macpherson (2019): Where does the minimum wage bite hardest in California? In: Journal of labor research, Jg. 40, H. 1, S. 1-23. DOI:10.1007/s12122-018-9281-z

Abstract

"This study uses employment data on California county-industry pairs (CIPs) between 1990 and 2016 to test whether minimum wage increases caused employment growth to slow most in the CIPs with a large share of low wage workers. Evidence supports the hypothesis, and we use the estimates to simulate the effect of a 10% increase in the minimum wage. The simulations suggest that a 10% increase could cause a 3.4% employment loss in the average CIP in California. The job loss is projected to be concentrated in two industries: accommodation and food services, and retail. While the most populated counties of California are expected to incur the largest employment loss in terms of the number of workers, the smaller counties generally experience a larger percentage point loss in employment due to the lower wages and the greater number of workers that would be affected by the minimum wage hike. Moreover, there is substantial variation across counties in terms of the percentage of jobs lost within a given industry." (Author's abstract, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Fan, Maoyong & Anita Alves Pena (2019): Do minimum wage laws affect those who are not covered? Evidence from agricultural and non-agricultural workers. In: PLoS ONE, Jg. 14, H. 10. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0221935

Abstract

"Some employers are not obligated to pay at least minimum wages to all employees. U.S. farm employers comprise one of these groups. Employees of large farms and H-2A workers (lawfully admitted, nonimmigrant workers performing temporary or seasonal agricultural work) are protected by minimum wage legislation, while some migrant workers (often those paid piece rates) are exempt. U.S. agriculture also is characterized by a large percentage of unauthorized workers who may or may not earn above minimum wage. Following insights from dual labor market theory and from theories of the signaling capacity of the minimum wage, we compare labor market outcomes in the agricultural sector (where minimum wage coverage is limited) to low wage/skill non-agricultural sectors (where minimum wage coverage is more complete) nationally using data from the Current Population Survey. We then extend our analysis to a detailed state-level case study of agricultural workers in California using a representative survey of employed farm workers. Results suggest wage increases for covered workers that exceed those for uncovered workers, but insignificant differences in hours worked. This is the first study to our knowledge to examine the impacts of minimum wage coverage on agricultural workers relative to other workers for the U.S." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Fone, Zachary S., Joseph J. Sabia & Resul Cesur (2019): Do minimum wage increases reduce crime? (NBER working paper 25647), Cambrige, Mass., 78 S. DOI:10.3386/w25647

Abstract

"An April 2016 Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) report advocated raising the minimum wage to deter crime. This recommendation rests on the assumption that minimum wage hikes increase the returns to legitimate labor market work while generating minimal adverse employment effects. This study comprehensively assesses the impact of minimum wages on crime using data from the 1998-2016 Uniform Crime Reports (UCR), National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), and National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY). Our results provide no evidence that minimum wage increases reduce crime. Instead, we find that raising the minimum wage increases property crime arrests among those ages 16-to-24, with an estimated elasticity of 0.2. This result is strongest in counties with over 100,000 residents and persists when we use longitudinal data to isolate workers for whom minimum wages bind. Our estimates suggest that a $15 Federal minimum wage could generate criminal externality costs of nearly $2.4 billion." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Godøy, Anna, Michael Reich & Sylvia A. Allegretto (2019): Parental labor supply: Evidence from minimum wage changes. (IRLE working paper 2019-103), Berkeley, CA, 61 S.

Abstract

"Declining labor force participation rates among less-educated individuals in the U.S. have been attributed to various causes, including skill-biased technical change, demand shocks induced by international competition, looser eligibility requirements for disability insurance, the opioid epidemic and the nature of child care and family leave policies. In this paper, we examine how the labor supply of parents of dependent children respond to minimum wage changes. We implement an event study framework and document a sharp rise in employment and earnings of parents after state minimum wage increases. We further show that these effects are concentrated among jobs that pay the minimum wage or slightly higher - high wage employment remains unaffected. Panel models find corresponding drops in welfare receipts, moreover, for single mothers, effects are larger for mothers of preschool age children. The results are consistentwith a simple labor supply model in which means-tested transfers and fixed costs of work in the form of paid childcare create barriers to labor market entry for parents of dependent children. Minimum wage increases then enable higher rates of parental labor force participation, resulting in significant reductions in child poverty. We find no evidence of employment crowd-out among non-parents, suggesting potential overall welfare gains from higher minimum wages." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Godøy, Anna & Michael Reich (2019): Minimum wage effects in low-wage areas. (IRLE working paper 2019-106), Berkeley, CA, 48 S.

Abstract

"A proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2024 would increase the relative minimum wage - the ratio to the national median wage - to about .68. In Alabama and Mississippi, our two lowest-wage states, the relative minimum wage would rise to .77 and .85, respectively. Yet research on state-level minimum wage policies does not extend beyond $10; the highest studied state-level relative minimum wage is .59. To close this gap we study minimum wage effects in counties and PUMAs where relative minimum wage ratios already reach as high as .82. Using ACS data since 2005 and 51 events, we sort counties and PUMAs according to their relative minimum wages and bites. We report average results for all the events in our sample, and separately for those with lower and higher impacts. We find positive wage effects but do not detect adverse effects on employment, weekly hours or annual weeks worked. We do not find negative employment effects among women, blacks and/or Hispanics. We do find substantial declines in household and child poverty." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Harasztosi, Peter & Attila Lindner (2019): Who Pays for the Minimum Wage? In: The American economic review, Jg. 109, H. 8, S. 2693-2727. DOI:10.1257/aer.20171445

Abstract

"This paper provides a comprehensive assessment of the margins along which firms responded to a large and persistent minimum wage increase in Hungary. We show that employment elasticities are negative but small even four years after the reform; that around 75 percent of the minimum wage increase was paid by consumers and 25 percent by firm owners; that firms responded to the minimum wage by substituting labor with capital; and that disemployment effects were greater in industries where passing the wage costs to consumers is more difficult. We estimate a model with monopolistic competition to explain these findings." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Hofmann, Julia & Sepp Zuckerstätter (2019): Living wages: a reasonable goal or a surrender of minimum wages? An Austrian perspective. In: Transfer, Jg. 25, H. 3, S. 373-379. DOI:10.1177/1024258919867790

Abstract

"In our short background piece, we first discuss the practical and political problems involved in defining and pursuing a living wage strategy. We go on to define what minimum/living wages mean from an Austrian perspective. We then give a short overview of (the history of) minimum wage policy in Austria. Finally, yet importantly, we outline future challenges for the minimum/ living wage strategy of Austrian unions." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Johnson, Mathew, Aristea Koukiadaki & Damian Grimshaw (2019): The Living Wage in the UK: testing the limits of soft regulation? In: Transfer, Jg. 25, H. 3, S. 319-333. DOI:10.1177/1024258919845768

Abstract

"Der vorliegende Artikel ist eine kritische Bewertung des in Großbritannien vor fast 20 Jahren eingeführten Living Wage und seiner Vor- und Nachteile. Es lässt sich belegen, dass die Erhöhung der Stundenlöhne signifikant war und offenbar keine oder nur geringe negative Auswirkungen auf Arbeitsplätze oder Arbeitszeiten hatte. Der Fall Großbritanniens zeigt jedoch auch, dass die Einführung eines Living Wage alleine nicht ausreicht ohne einen koordinierten Ansatz zu dessen universellen Umsetzung und ohne eine Verknüpfung mit einer effektiven Tarifpolitik. Unzureichende Koordinierung erklärt den sehr geringen Anteil an Niedriglohnempfängern, die von einem freiwilligen Living Wage abgedeckt werden. Eine schwache Verknüpfung mit Tarifverhandlungen bedeutet, dass selbst dort, wo ein Living Wage von einem Niedriglohn-Arbeitgeber eingeführt wurde, weitergehende Ausstrahlungseffekte (z.B. durch die Wahrung des Lohngefälles) sehr selten auftreten.
Die Autoren argumentieren, dass die freiwillige Akkreditierung bei der Living Wage Foundation von den Arbeitgebern zwar immer mehr als ein wichtiges Symbol der 'Unternehmensethik' gesehen wird, der Living Wage aber weiterhin ein relativ isoliertes Instrument der Lohnfestlegung in Großbritannien bleibt.
Dies ist nicht nur das Ergebnis der Freiwilligkeit der Kampagne, sondern auch der begrenzten Möglichkeiten eines direkten Zusammenwirkens mit anderen Mechanismen der Lohnfindung in Großbritannien - trotz der zahlreichen Belege, dass sich Living Wages und tarifvertraglich ausgehandelte Lohnstrukturen wechselseitig ergänzen. Der Artikel schließt mit der Untersuchung der unterschiedlichen Mechanismen, mit denen der Living Wage im Niedriglohn-Arbeitsmarktsegment weiter durchgesetzt und verankert werden könnte." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Köppl-Turyna, Monika, Michael Christl & Dénes Kucsera (2019): Beschäftigungseffekte von Mindestlöhnen. Die Dosis macht das Gift. In: Ifo-Schnelldienst, Jg. 72, H. 2, S. 40-46.

Abstract

"Die Diskussion über die Beschäftigungseffekte von Mindestlöhnen ist seit vielen Jahrzehnten in Gange. In ihrem Beitrag verwenden Monika Köppl-Turyna, Michael Christl und Dénes Kucsera, Agenda Austria, ihr empirisches Modell, das auf der Annahme von nicht-linearen Beschäftigungseffekten von Mindestlöhnen basiert. Diese Effekte entstehen aus zwei Gründen: Einerseits reduzieren Unternehmen aufgrund höherer Mindestlöhne die Anzahl der angebotenen Stellen, anderseits führen steigende Löhne zu einem höheren Anreiz, einen Job anzunehmen. Der signifikante, nicht-lineare empirische Zusammenhang zwischen Mindestlohn und Beschäftigung ermöglicht die Berechnung einer Mindestlohnhöhe, bei der die Beschäftigung maximiert wird. Diese Höhe des Mindestlohns hängt nicht nur von der Arbeitsproduktivität, sondern auch von der Konjunktur ab. In wirtschaftlich guten Zeiten beziehungsweise in Ländern mit hoher Arbeitsproduktivität ist ein höherer Mindestlohn ohne negative Beschäftigungseffekte möglich. Für Deutschland kommen die Autoren zu dem Ergebnis, dass der derzeitige Mindestlohn beinahe dem Optimalen entspricht. Es zeigt sich aber auch, dass bei einer veränderten Konjunktur oder bei einer Anhebung des Mindestlohns mit stärkeren negativen Beschäftigungseffekten zu rechnen ist." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Laporšek, Suzana, Peter F. Orazem, Matija Vodopivec & Milan Vodopivec (2019): Long-term responses to large minimum wage shocks. Sub-minimum and super- minimum workers in Slovenia. (IZA discussion paper 12123), Bonn, 36 S.

Abstract

"This study examines long-term effects of a minimum wage increase using an innovative identification strategy based on categorising workers according to their predicted marginal revenue products. It finds that the increase had a large and persistent disemployment effects on low-paid workers and that it triggered substitution toward more productive workers. As a consequence, the sub-minimum workers as a group lost average earnings, hours and employment compared to other workers. The adverse employment effect occurred both through a higher probability of transition from employment to non-employment and through a decreased probability of transition from non-employment to employment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Lennon, Conor, Jose Fernandez, Stephan Gohmann & Keith Teltser (2019): Minimum wages, morality, and efficiency: A choice experiment. In: AEA papers and proceedings, Jg. 109, S. 176-181. DOI:10.1257/pandp.20191088

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Luca, Dara Lee & Michael Luca (2019): Survival of the fittest: The impact of the minimum wage on firm exit. (NBER working paper 25806), Cambrige, Mass., 43 S. DOI:10.3386/w25806

Abstract

"We study the impact of the minimum wage on firm exit in the restaurant industry, exploiting recent changes in the minimum wage at the city level. We find that the impact of the minimum wage depends on whether a restaurant was already close to the margin of exit. Restaurants with lower ratings are closer to the margin of exit on average, and are disproportionately driven out of business by increases to the minimum wage. Our point estimates suggest that a one dollar increase in the minimum wage leads to a 10 percent increase in the likelihood of exit for a 3.5-star restaurant (which is the median rating on Yelp), but has no discernible impact for a 5-star restaurant (on a 1 to 5 star scale). We expand the analysis to look at prices using data from delivery orders, and find that lower rated restaurants also increase prices in response to minimum wage increases. Our analysis also highlights how digital data can be used to shed new light on labor policy and the economy." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Matano, Alessia, Paolo Naticchioni & Francesco Vona (2019): The institutional adjustment margin to import competition. Evidence from Italian minimum wages. (IZA discussion paper 12714), Bonn, 27 S.

Abstract

"A growing body of research has contributed to understanding the labor market and political effects of globalization. This paper explores an overlooked aspect of trade-induced adjustments in the labor market: the institutional aspect. We take advantage of the twotier collective bargaining structure of the Italian labor market, whereby the first tier entails setting minimum wages at the contract level. Using an instrumental variable strategy and exploiting variations in contract-level exposure to trade, we find for the 1995-2003 period that, on average, the surge in imports decreased contractual minimum wages by 1.5%. This impact increases in the share of unskilled workers employed in the contract. This negative institutional effect contrasts with a nonsignificant effect of trade on total wages, with the latter becoming positive and large only for highly skilled workers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Monras, Joan (2019): Minimum wages and spatial equilibrium. Theory and evidence. In: Journal of labor economics, Jg. 37, H. 3, S. 853-904. DOI:10.1086/702650

Abstract

"This paper introduces a spatial equilibrium model that relates earnings, employment, and internal migration responses to minimum wage increases. Population moves to or away from regions that increase minimum wages depending on the labor demand elasticity and on the financing of unemployment benefits. The empirical evidence shows that increases in minimum wages lead to increases in wages and decreases in employment among the low skilled. The labor demand elasticity is estimated to be around 1, which in the model is in line with the migration responses observed in the data. Low-skilled workers tend to leave regions that increase minimum wages." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Nadler, Carl, Sylvia A. Allegretto, Anna Godøy & Michael Reich (2019): Are local minimum wages too high? (IRLE working paper 2019-102), Berkeley, CA, 109 S.

Abstract

"We measure the effects of six citywide minimum wages that ranged up to $13 in Chicago, the District of Columbia, Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose and Seattle, employing event study and synthetic control methods. Using aggregate data on average earnings and employment in the food services industry, we find significantly positive earnings increases and no significant employment losses. While such evidence suggests the policies raised the earnings of low-wage workers, as intended, a competing explanation is that the industry responds to wage increases by increasing their demand for more productive higher-wage workers, offsetting low-wage layoffs (i.e., labor-labor substitution). To tackle this key question, we present a theoretical framework that connects the responses estimated at the industry-level to the own- and cross-wage labor demand elasticities that summarize the total effect of the policies on workers. Using a calibration exercise, we find that the combination of average earnings gains and constant employment cannot be produced by labor-labor substitution unless there are also effects on hours. To test whether the minimum wage increases demand for higher-wage workers or reduces low-wage workers' hours, we examine the effects of California's recent state and local minimum wage policies on the food services industry. There we find no evidence of labor-labor substitution or hours responses. Thus, the most likely explanation for the responses we find in the cities is that the industry's demand for low-wage workers is inelastic, and the policies raised their earnings." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Neumark, David (2019): The econometrics and economics of the employment effects of minimum wages. Getting from known unknowns to known knowns. In: German economic review, Jg. 20, H. 3, S. 293-329. DOI:10.1111/geer.12184

Abstract

"I discuss the econometrics and the economics of past research on the effects of minimum wages on employment in the United States. My intent is to try to identify key questions raised in the recent literature, and some from the earlier literature, which I think hold the most promise for understanding the conflicting evidence and arriving at a more definitive answer about the employment effects of minimum wages. My secondary goal is to discuss how we can narrow the range of uncertainty about the likely effects of the large minimum wage increases becoming more prevalent in the United States. I discuss some insights from both theory and past evidence that may be informative about the effects of high minimum wages, and try to emphasize what research can be done now and in the near future to provide useful evidence to policy-makers on the results of the coming high minimum wage experiment, whether in the United States or in other countries." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Neumark, David & Cortnie Shupe (2019): Declining teen employment: minimum wages, returns to schooling, and immigration. In: Labour economics, Jg. 59, H. August, S. 49-68. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2019.03.008

Abstract

"We explore the decline in teen employment in the United States since 2000, which was sharpest for 16-17 year-olds. We consider three main explanatory factors: a rising minimum wage that could reduce employment opportunities for teens and potentially increase the value of investing in schooling; rising returns to schooling; and increasing competition from immigrants that, like the minimum wage, could reduce employment opportunities and possibly also raise the returns to human capital investment. We find that, among these factors, higher minimum wages are the predominant factor explaining changes in the schooling and workforce behavior of 16-17 year-olds since 2000. The employment decline arises from a combination of a lower likelihood of being both employed and enrolled in school, and a higher likelihood of being enrolled in school only (not employed). These effects are consistent with the minimum wage leading students to increase their focus on schooling to meet a higher productivity standard for jobs with a higher minimum wage." (Author's abstract, © 2019 Elsevier) ((en))

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Pereira, João M. R. & Aurora Galego (2019): Diverging trends of wage inequality in Europe. In: Oxford economic papers, Jg. 71, H. 4, S. 799-823. DOI:10.1093/oep/gpy072

Abstract

"Since the middle/end of the 2000s wage inequality has increased in some European countries (such as Portugal or the UK) and decreased in others (especially in Hungary and Poland). In this article, we analyse the role of the minimum wage and of workers' and firms' observed characteristics behind these diverging trends in wage inequality. Our findings indicate that compositional changes as regards education are a key factor pushing up inequality in the majority of the countries, but particularly in Italy and Portugal. Other factors either contribute to increased or decreased inequality, specifically minimum wage changes, the percentage of non-native employees and native wage premiums. Minimum wage changes seem to be of crucial importance in Greece, Hungary and Poland. Finally, the presence of non-natives in the labour market is a key determinant in the UK, but also to some extent in Austria and Hungary." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Phelan, Brian J. (2019): Hedonic-based labor supply substitution and the ripple effect of minimum wages. In: Journal of labor economics, Jg. 37, H. 3, S. 905-947. DOI:10.1086/702651

Abstract

"This paper analyzes a new explanation of the 'ripple effect' of minimum wages based on how minimum wages affect hedonic compensation. Minimum wage hikes lower compensating differentials at low-skill undesirable jobs because they raise wages at the most desirable low-skill job, the minimum wage job. This change in hedonic compensation may cause some individuals to optimally leave low-wage undesirable jobs and seek more desirable employment. If labor supply falls at low-wage undesirable jobs, employers would raise wages, consistent with the ripple effect. Empirically, I provide evidence that hedonic-based labor supply substitution is taking place and contributing to the ripple effect." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Poje, Andreja (2019): The introduction of a 'monthly living wage' in Slovenia. In: Transfer, Jg. 25, H. 3, S. 335-350. DOI:10.1177/1024258919855180

Abstract

"Der vorliegende Artikel analysiert die einzelnen Schritte der erfolgreichen Kampagne der slowenischen Gewerkschaften, den gesetzlichen monatlichen Mindestlohn zu einem Living Wage aufzuwerten. Die Kampagne führte 2010 zu einer Erhöhung des Mindestlohns um 23 Prozent sowie in der Folge zu einer neuen Definition des Begriffs und zu geänderten Anpassungsmechanismen. Die Analyse beginnt mit einer historischen Übersicht über die Entwicklung des Mindestlohns in Slowenien und fasst die Ereignisse zusammen, die die Gewerkschaften zu ihrer Kampagne bewogen haben. Unter Berücksichtigung der Auswirkungen der Erhöhung des gesetzlichen Mindestlohns um 23 Prozent zeigen die Erfahrungen in Slowenien, dass die Umwandlung des monatlichen Mindestlohns in einen Living Wage nicht zwangsläufig zu negativen makroökonomischen Auswirkungen wie geringerem Wachstum oder steigender Arbeitslosigkeit führen muss. Obwohl die Kampagne in Slowenien sich argumentativ nicht explizit auf das Konzept des Living Wage bezog, wurde hier außerdem deutlich, dass die Gewerkschaften trotzdem wichtige Elemente dieses Konzeptes an den länderspezifischen institutionellen Kontext anpassen konnten." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Schulten, Thorsten & Torsten Müller (2019): What's in a name? From minimum wages to living wages in Europe. In: Transfer, Jg. 25, H. 3, S. 267-284. DOI:10.1177/1024258919873989

Abstract

"Die Entwicklung einer europäischen Mindestlohnpolitik ist zurück auf der politischen Agenda. Während in der Vergangenheit die Diskussion über eine europäische Mindestlohnpolitik weitgehend losgelöst von realen Entwicklungen auf nationaler Ebene stattfand, wird die jüngste Debatte durch verschiedene nationale Initiativen zur Sicherung eines Living Wage gestützt, der den Beschäftigten und ihren Familien einen angemessenen Lebensstandard ermöglichen soll. Basierend auf einer Einführung des Living Wage-Konzepts untersucht der Artikel, wie sich die jüngsten Living Wage-Initiativen in mehreren EU-Mitgliedsstaaten und die Entwicklung einer europäischen Mindestlohnpolitik gegenseitig unterstützen und letztendlich zu einer europäischen Living Wage-Politik führen können. Angesicht der Heterogenität der Mindestlohnsysteme und der Wohlfahrtsstaatstraditionen in Europa plädiert der Artikel für einen pragmatischen Ansatz. Dieser definiert einen gemeinsamen europäischen Standard von 60 Prozent des nationalen Medianlohns als Maßstab für die Bewertung, inwieweit Mindestlöhne in der Lage sind, einen angemessenen Lebensstandard zu garantieren." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Schulten, Thorsten & Malte Lübker (2019): WSI-Mindestlohnbericht 2019. Zeit für kräftige Lohnzuwächse und eine europäische Mindestlohnpolitik. In: WSI-Mitteilungen, Jg. 72, H. 2, S. 133-141. DOI:10.5771/0342-300X-2019-2-133

Abstract

"Die Rolle von Mindestlöhnen als Instrument zur Schaffung existenzsichernder Löhne ist in den letzten Jahren zunehmend in den Fokus der politischen Debatte gerückt. Vor diesem Hintergrund analysiert der WSI-Mindestlohnbericht 2019 die aktuelle Entwicklung der Mindestlöhne in den 22?Ländern der Europäischen Union, die eine gesetzliche Lohnuntergrenze haben, und darüber hinaus in 15 weiteren EU-Anrainerstaaten und wichtigen Volkswirtschaften in Übersee. Im Ergebnis zeigt sich, dass sich die Dynamik der Vorjahre fortsetzt und die Mindestlöhne in der EU zum Beginn des Jahre 2019 im Median um 4,8?% gestiegen sind. Getragen wird diese Entwicklung insbesondere von der anhaltenden Aufholbewegung der osteuropäischen Mitgliedstaaten, aber auch von einer substanziellen Anhebung in Spanien. Inzwischen erreichen die Mindestlöhne in der EU ein Niveau von gut 50?% der Medianlöhne, womit sie jedoch weiterhin deutlich unter der Niedriglohnschwelle liegen. Eine koordinierte, strukturelle Anhebung der untersten Löhne ist dabei eine wichtige Zielsetzung für eine Europäische Mindestlohnpolitik." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Snyder, Thomas, Senayt Rinkevich & Weici Yuan (2019): Do minimum wage increases affect SNAP benefits? In: The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy, Jg. 19, H. 2, S. 1-6. DOI:10.1515/bejeap-2018-0045

Abstract

"The recession of the late 2000s accompanied a steep increase in the number of people on the U.S. federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The economy recovered, yet the number of people on SNAP remained relatively high. This study investigates whether increases in minimum wages affected the number of SNAP beneficiaries and the per-capita cost of the program. Economic reasoning suggests a minimum wage increase can decrease poverty through higher wages or increase poverty by enacting a barrier to work. Using a panel data set (1997 - 2015) at the state level, two-way fixed effects estimates demonstrate a nonlinear relationship between minimum wages and SNAP benefits. At low minimum wages, increases in the minimum wage reduce SNAP enrollment and benefits; however, at high minimum wages, increases in the minimum wage increase SNAP enrollment and benefits. Twenty states have already passed the minimum wage turning point. Further increases can lead to more SNAP participants." (Author's abstract, © De Gruyter) ((en))

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Wagner, Bettina (2019): Europäische Arbeitsbehörde und Reform der EU-Entsenderichtlinie - Wirksame Instrumente zur grenzüberschreitenden Bekämpfung von Lohn- und Sozialdumping? In: WISO, Jg. 42, H. 3, S. 11-25.

Abstract

"Dieser Beitrag widmet sich der Einführung der Europäischen Arbeitsbehörde sowie der Reform der Entsenderichtlinie und analysiert diese Maßnahmen in Hinblick auf ihre Wirksamkeit in der Bekämpfung von Sozialdumping. In der EU ansässige Firmen haben das Recht, grenzübergreifend Dienstleistungen anzubieten und zur Ausführung der Tätigkeiten eigene Arbeitnehmer/-innen zu entsenden. Diese Freiheiten werden seit vielen Jahren intensiv, aber nicht immer nur zum Vorteil der betroffenen Arbeitnehmer/-innen angewandt und wurden seitdem durch eine Vielzahl von Richtlinien und Verordnungen ausgelegt und erweitert. Die Spannungsfelder und Interessenkonflikte, die sich zwischen den Akteuren/-innen auftun und wie diese innerhalb einer ständig wachsenden Europäischen Union verhandelt werden und werden sollten, ist ein weiterer Schwerpunkt dieses Beitrags" (Autorenreferat, © ISW-Linz)

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Wang, Wuyi, Peter C. B. Phillips & Liangjun Su (2019): The heterogeneous effects of the minimum wage on employment across states. In: Economics Letters, Jg. 174, H. January, S. 179-185. DOI:10.1016/j.econlet.2018.11.002

Abstract

"This paper studies the relationship between the minimum wage and the employment rate in the US using the framework of a panel structure model. The approach allows the minimum wage, along with some other controls, to have heterogeneous effects on employment across states which are classified into a group structure. The effects on employment are the same within each group but differ across different groups. The number of groups and the group membership of each state are both unknown a priori. The approach employs the C-Lasso technique, a recently developed classification method that consistently estimates group structure and leads to oracle-efficient estimation of the coefficients. Empirical application of C-Lasso to a US restaurant industry panel over the period 1990-2006 leads to the identification of four separate groups at the state level. The findings reveal substantial heterogeneity in the impact of the minimum wage on employment across groups, with both positive and negative effects and geographical patterns manifesting in the data. The results provide some new perspectives on the prolonged debate on the impact of minimum wage on employment." (Author's abstract, © 2018 Elsevier) ((en))