RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Effects of the Minimum Wage on Employment Dynamics
JF Journal of Human Resources
JO J Hum Resour
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 500
OP 522
DO 10.3368/jhr.51.2.0414-6298R1
VO 51
IS 2
A1 Jonathan Meer
A1 Jeremy West
YR 2016
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/51/2/500.abstract
AB The voluminous literature on minimum wages offers little consensus on the extent to which a wage floor impacts employment. We argue that the minimum wage will impact employment over time through changes in growth rather than an immediate drop in relative employment levels. We show that commonly used specifications in this literature, especially those that include state-specific time trends, will not accurately capture these effects. Using three separate state panels of administrative employment data, we find that the minimum wage reduces job growth over a period of several years. This finding is supported using several empirical specifications.