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What's across the Border? Re-Evaluating the Cross-Border Evidence on Minimum Wage Effects

Author

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  • Ranjan, Priya

    (University of California, Irvine)

  • Neumark, David

    (University of California, Irvine)

  • Rodriguez-Lopez, Antonio

    (CESifo)

Abstract

Dube, Lester, and Reich (2010) argue that state-level minimum wage variation can be correlated with economic shocks, generating spurious evidence that higher minimum wages reduce employment. Using minimum wage variation within contiguous county pairs that share a state border, they find no relationship between minimum wages and employment in the U.S. restaurant industry. We show that this finding hinges critically on using cross-border counties to define local economic areas with which to control for economic shocks that are potentially correlated with minimum wage changes. We use, instead, multi-state commuting zones, which provide superior definitions of local economic areas. Using the same within-local area research design—but within cross-border commuting zones—we find a robust negative relationship between minimum wages and employment.

Suggested Citation

  • Ranjan, Priya & Neumark, David & Rodriguez-Lopez, Antonio, 2022. "What's across the Border? Re-Evaluating the Cross-Border Evidence on Minimum Wage Effects," IZA Discussion Papers 15282, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15282
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    Cited by:

    1. Winters, John V., 2022. "Minimum Wages and Restaurant Employment for Teens and Adults in Metropolitan and Non-metropolitan Areas," IZA Discussion Papers 15499, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Benjamin S. Kay & Albina Khatiwoda, 2025. "Challenging Demographic Representativeness at State Borders: Implications for Policy Research," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2025-018, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).

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    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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