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The minimum wage and teen educational attainment

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  • Smith, Alexander A.

Abstract

Teen employment effects are central to the minimum wage debate, but important indirect effects on education receive relatively little attention. I investigate the effect of changes in the minimum wage on high school dropout decisions. Consistently across two sources of variation and three individual-level datasets, I find that increases in the minimum wage substantially reduce the dropout likelihood of low-socioeconomic status (SES) teens but have no effect on other teens.

Suggested Citation

  • Smith, Alexander A., 2021. "The minimum wage and teen educational attainment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:73:y:2021:i:c:s0927537121000968
    DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2021.102061
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    2. Jiménez, Bruno, 2023. "The Political economy of the minimum wage," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).

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