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Corporate Minimum Wages and Working Poverty

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  • Wilmers, Nathan
  • Roh, Soohyun
  • Tang, Jiawei

Abstract

Starting in 2014, many large retail employers adopted voluntary corporate minimum wages. These minimums provided a wage floor affecting millions of workers. Novel employer-linked household panel data allow us to study how these employer wage-setting decisions affect working poverty. Minimums reduce poverty rates in adopting firms by 30% to 50%, relative to workers in similar jobs, labor markets and competitor employers. Minimums also narrow black/white, college/non-college, regional, and gender wage gaps within firms. Poverty reduction is not explained by shifting worker selection, pre-trends, or offsetting decreases in hours or health insurance. However, adopters employ more college-educated workers and intensify work.

Suggested Citation

  • Wilmers, Nathan & Roh, Soohyun & Tang, Jiawei, 2025. "Corporate Minimum Wages and Working Poverty," SocArXiv t8wqk_v1, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:socarx:t8wqk_v1
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/t8wqk_v1
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