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Does the Minimum Wage Bite into Fast-Food Prices?

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Abstract

We study the effect of increases in effective minimum wages on the prices of several fast-food items using quarterly city-level data from 1993-2014, a period during much of which the federal minimum wage declined in real value while state-level legislation flourished. For one product, a burger, we find a robust price elasticity of 9% with respect to the minimum wage. This estimate indicates substantial cost pass-through when contextualized by the effect of minimum wage increases on restaurant wage bills. Our estimate for pizza is suggestive of a similarly large pass-through rate but is less precisely estimated, and our estimate for fried chicken is near zero, but estimated even less precisely. Taken as a whole, our estimates point toward sizable cost pass-through of minimum wage increases to consumer prices. These results contribute to a mixed literature on the consumer burden of minimum wage increases.

Suggested Citation

  • Emek Basker & Muhammad Taimur Khan, 2013. "Does the Minimum Wage Bite into Fast-Food Prices?," Working Papers 1317, Department of Economics, University of Missouri.
    • Handle: RePEc:umc:wpaper:1317
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    Cited by:

    1. Jennifer J. Otten & James Buszkiewicz & Wesley Tang & Anju Aggarwal & Mark Long & Jacob Vigdor & Adam Drewnowski, 2017. "The Impact of a City-Level Minimum-Wage Policy on Supermarket Food Prices in Seattle-King County," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-12, September.
    2. Vit Hradil, 2018. "Does Minimum Wage Affect Workplace Safety?," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp615, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    3. Daniel MacDonald & Eric Nilsson, 2016. "The Effects of Increasing the Minimum Wage on Prices: Analyzing the Incidence of Policy Design and Context," Upjohn Working Papers 16-260, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    4. Orley Ashenfelter & Stepan Jurajda Jurajda, 2021. "Wages, Minimum Wages, and Price Pass-Through: The Case of McDonald's Restaurants," Working Papers 646, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    5. Ahsan, Ishmam, 2021. "Minimum Wage and Sectoral Price Inflation," MPRA Paper 117350, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised May 2023.
    6. James Buszkiewicz & Cathy House & Anju Aggarwal & Mark Long & Adam Drewnowski & Jennifer J. Otten, 2019. "The Impact of a City-Level Minimum Wage Policy on Supermarket Food Prices by Food Quality Metrics: A Two-Year Follow Up Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-14, January.
    7. French, Eric Baird & Aaronson, Daniel & Sorkin, Isaac, 2016. "Industry Dynamics and the Minimum Wage: A Putty-Clay Approach," CEPR Discussion Papers 11097, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    8. George L. Wehby & Dhaval M. Dave & Robert Kaestner, 2020. "Effects of the Minimum Wage on Infant Health," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(2), pages 411-443, March.
    9. Daniel Cooper & María José Luengo‐Prado & Jonathan A. Parker, 2020. "The Local Aggregate Effects of Minimum Wage Increases," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 52(1), pages 5-35, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Minimum wage; fast food; pass-through; prices;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • L81 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce

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