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State minimum wages and business location: Evidence from a refined border approach

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  • Rohlin, Shawn M.

Abstract

This study examines the effect of state minimum wage changes on new and existing business establishments. It employs a refined border approach in conjunction with other differencing methods to control for unobserved heterogeneous area characteristics. The findings suggest that state minimum wage increases deter new establishments from locating in an area, particularly in industries that rely on low-education workforces, such as the retail and manufacturing industries. However, existing establishments, regardless of industry type, are not found to be adversely affected by minimum wage policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Rohlin, Shawn M., 2011. "State minimum wages and business location: Evidence from a refined border approach," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 103-117, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:juecon:v:69:y:2011:i:1:p:103-117
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    3. Fidrmuc, Jan & Tena, J. D., 2018. "UK national minimum wage and labor market outcomes of young workers," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 12, pages 1-28.
    4. Bossler, Mario & Gürtzgen, Nicole & Lochner, Benjamin & Betzl, Ute & Feist, Lisa & Wegmann, Jakob, 2018. "Auswirkungen des gesetzlichen Mindestlohns auf Betriebe und Unternehmen," IAB-Forschungsbericht 201804, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    5. Priyaranjan Jha & David Neumark & Antonio Rodriguez-Lopez, 2022. "What's Across the Border? Re-Evaluating the Cross-Border Evidence on Minimum Wage Effects," CESifo Working Paper Series 9746, CESifo.
    6. Cumming, Fergus, 2022. "Mortgage cash-flows and employment," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    7. Arindrajit Dube & Attila S. Lindner, 2024. "Minimum Wages in the 21st Century," NBER Working Papers 32878, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Simon, Andrew & Wilson, Matthew, 2021. "Optimal minimum wage setting in a federal system," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    9. Rui Pan & Dao‐Zhi Zeng, 2024. "Goods market desirability of minimum wages," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 91(364), pages 1255-1290, October.
    10. Eric James Stokan, 2019. "An Estimate of the Local Economic Impact of State-Level Earned Income Tax Credits," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 33(3), pages 170-186, August.
    11. Carlianne Patrick, 2014. "Does Increasing Available Non-Tax Economic Development Incentives Result in More Jobs?," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 67(2), pages 351-386, June.
    12. Baek, Jisun & Lee, Changkeun & Park, WooRam, 2021. "The impact of the minimum wage on the characteristics of new establishments: Evidence from South Korea," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    13. French, Eric Baird & Aaronson, Daniel & Sorkin, Isaac, 2016. "Industry Dynamics and the Minimum Wage: A Putty-Clay Approach," CEPR Discussion Papers 11097, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    14. Dhar, Paramita & Ross, Stephen L, 2012. "School district quality and property values: Examining differences along school district boundaries," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(1), pages 18-25.
    15. Gatchev, Vladimir A. & Pirinsky, Christo A. & Zhao, Mengxin, 2022. "Attitudes towards business and corporate governance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    16. Kong, Dongmin & Qin, Ni & Xiang, Junyi, 2021. "Minimum wage and entrepreneurship: Evidence from China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 320-336.
    17. Jan Fidrmuc & J. D. Tena, 2013. "National Minimum Wage and Employment of Young Workers in the UK," CESifo Working Paper Series 4286, CESifo.
    18. Melissa Gentry & Nadia Greenhalgh-Stanley & Shawn M. Rohlin & Jeffrey P. Thompson, 2020. "Dynamic Sales Tax Competition: Evidence from Panel Data at the Border," Working Papers 20-5, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    19. Daniel Haanwinckel, 2023. "Does regional variation in wage levels identify the effects of a national minimum wage?," Papers 2307.01284, arXiv.org, revised Apr 2025.
    20. Daniel Aaronson & Eric French & Isaac Sorkin, 2013. "Firm Dynamics and the Minimum Wage: A Putty-Clay Approach," Working Paper Series WP-2013-26, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
    21. Dara Lee Luca & Michael Luca, 2019. "Survival of the Fittest: The Impact of the Minimum Wage on Firm Exit," NBER Working Papers 25806, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    23. Xiaohui Gao, 2024. "Madam Yellen is right about minimum wage policies: evidence from millions of sole proprietors," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 63(4), pages 1233-1249, November.
    24. Edward Feser, 2013. "Isserman’s Impact," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 36(1), pages 44-68, January.

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