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State Type and Congressional Voting on the Minimum Wage

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  • Oren M. Levin-Waldman

Abstract

How members of Congress vote on increases in the minimum wage is a function of several factors, most notably party affiliation and constituent interest. But also among those factors is the existence of "right-to-work" laws in the representative's state and the presence of labor unions, especially as they represent a voting constituency. This paper examines congressional voting patterns on the minimum wage from 1949, when the first vote to increase the wage occurred, to 1996, when the last vote occurred, and finds a relationship between union strength and positive voting, a relationship between "right-to-work" states and negative voting, and a decline in the significance of unions as a factor affecting congressional voting as unionism has declined.

Suggested Citation

  • Oren M. Levin-Waldman, 1998. "State Type and Congressional Voting on the Minimum Wage," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_243, Levy Economics Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:lev:wrkpap:wp_243
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Robert E. Prasch, 1996. "In Defense of the Minimum Wage," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(2), pages 391-397, June.
    2. Oren M. Levin-Waldman, 1998. "Exploring the Politics of the Minimum Wage," Macroeconomics 9805010, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Oren M. Levin-Waldman, 1996. "Exploring the Politics of the Minimum Wage," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_176, Levy Economics Institute.
    4. finis-welch, 1978. "Minimum Wages: Issues and Evidence," Books, American Enterprise Institute, number 921141, September.
    5. James B. Kau & Donald Keenan & Paul H. Rubin, 1982. "A General Equilibrium Model of Congressional Voting," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 97(2), pages 271-293.
    6. Oren M. Levin-Waldman, 1998. "Exploring the Politics of the Minimum Wage," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(3), pages 773-802, September.
    7. Kosters, Marvin & Welch, Finis, 1972. "The Effects of Minimum Wages on the Distribution of Changes in Aggregate Employment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 62(3), pages 323-332, June.
    8. David Neumark & William Wascher, 1992. "Employment Effects of Minimum and Subminimum Wages: Panel Data on State Minimum Wage Laws," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 46(1), pages 55-81, October.
    9. Richard V. Burkhauser & T. Aldrich Finegan, 1989. "The minimum wage and the poor: The end of a relationship," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 8(1), pages 53-71.
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