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The Employment and Redistributive Effects of Reducing or Eliminating Minimum Wage Tip Credits

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  • David Neumark
  • Maysen Yen

Abstract

Recent policy debate on minimum wages has focused not only on raising the minimum wage, but on eliminating the tip credit for restaurant workers. We use data on past variation in tip credits—or minimum wages for restaurant workers—to provide evidence on the potential impacts of eliminating (or reducing) the tip credit. Our evidence points to higher tipped minimum wages (smaller tip credits) reducing jobs among tipped restaurant workers, without earnings effects on those who remain employed sufficiently large to raise total earnings in this sector. And most of our evidence provides no indication that higher tipped minimum wages would be well targeted to poor or low-income families or reduce the likelihood of being poor or very low income.

Suggested Citation

  • David Neumark & Maysen Yen, 2021. "The Employment and Redistributive Effects of Reducing or Eliminating Minimum Wage Tip Credits," NBER Working Papers 29213, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29213
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy

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