PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Neumark, David
AU  - Adams, Scott
TI  - Do Living Wage Ordinances Reduce Urban Poverty?
AID  - 10.3368/jhr.XXXVIII.3.490
DP  - 2003 Jul 01
TA  - Journal of Human Resources
PG  - 490--521
VI  - XXXVIII
IP  - 3
4099  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/XXXVIII/3/490.short
4100  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/XXXVIII/3/490.full
SO  - J Hum Resour2003 Jul 01; XXXVIII
AB  - Living wage ordinances typically mandate that businesses under contract with a city or, in some cases, receiving assistance from a city, must pay their workers a wage sufficient to support a family financially. We estimate the effects of these ordinances on wages, hours, and employment in cities that have adopted such legislation. We then examine the effects of these laws on poverty. Our findings indicate that living wage ordinances boost wages of low-wage workers. Moreover, we find a moderate negative employment effect. Finally, some of the evidence suggests that living wages achieve modest reductions in urban poverty.