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Are the Effects of Minimum Wage Increases Always Small? A Reanalysis of Sabia, Burkhauser, and Hansen

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  • Saul D. Hoffman

Abstract

In a 2012 article, Sabia, Burkhauser, and Hansen reported very large negative effects of the 2004 to 2006 increase in the New York State minimum wage on the employment of young, less-educated workers. Hoffman reexamines their estimates using data from the full Current Population Survey (CPS), rather than the smaller CPS-MORG files they used, and finds no evidence of a negative employment impact. The full CPS, which is the source of U.S. official labor market statistics, is certainly the more appropriate and reliable data source. Furthermore, when Hoffman repeats the analysis using three states and the District of Columbia, which also had a substantial increase in the state minimum wage in the same time period, he finds evidence of a small positive employment effect. Together, the two findings are consistent with other, more recent research that reports very weak or zero employment effects of the minimum wage.

Suggested Citation

  • Saul D. Hoffman, 2016. "Are the Effects of Minimum Wage Increases Always Small? A Reanalysis of Sabia, Burkhauser, and Hansen," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 69(2), pages 295-311, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:69:y:2016:i:2:p:295-311
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Card, David & Krueger, Alan B, 1994. "Minimum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast-Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(4), pages 772-793, September.
    2. Joseph J. Sabia & Richard V. Burkhauser & Benjamin Hansen, 2012. "Are the Effects of Minimum Wage Increases Always Small? New Evidence from a Case Study of New York State," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 65(2), pages 350-376, April.
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    4. Arindrajit Dube & T. William Lester & Michael Reich, 2010. "Minimum Wage Effects Across State Borders: Estimates Using Contiguous Counties," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 92(4), pages 945-964, November.
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    6. Arindrajit Dube & Suresh Naidu & Michael Reich, 2007. "The Economic Effects of a Citywide Minimum Wage," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 60(4), pages 522-543, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. David Neumark, 2019. "The Econometrics and Economics of the Employment Effects of Minimum Wages: Getting from Known Unknowns to Known Knowns," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 20(3), pages 293-329, August.
    2. Brandyn F. Churchill & Joseph J. Sabia, 2019. "The Effects of Minimum Wages on Low‐Skilled Immigrants’ Wages, Employment, and Poverty," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(2), pages 275-314, April.
    3. Paul Redmond & Karina Doorley & Seamus McGuinness, 2021. "The impact of a minimum wage change on the distribution of wages and household income," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 73(3), pages 1034-1056.
    4. McGuinness, Seamus & Redmond, Paul & Delaney, Judith, 2019. "The prevalence and effect on hours worked of the minimum wage in Ireland: A sectoral and regional analysis," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number RS93.
    5. Jeffrey Clemens & Michael R. Strain, 2017. "Estimating the Employment Effects of Recent Minimum Wage Changes: Early Evidence, an Interpretative Framework, and a Pre-Commitment to Future Analysis," NBER Working Papers 23084, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Sotomayor, Orlando J., 2021. "Can the minimum wage reduce poverty and inequality in the developing world? Evidence from Brazil," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    7. David Neumark & Peter Shirley, 2022. "Myth or measurement: What does the new minimum wage research say about minimum wages and job loss in the United States?," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(4), pages 384-417, October.
    8. 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 Papers 12137, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    minimum wage;

    JEL classification:

    • J08 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics Policies
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy

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