IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ppi/ppicwp/2004.12.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Effects of Living Wage Laws: Evidence From Failed and Derailed Living Wage Campaigns

Author

Listed:
  • Scott Adams
  • David Neumark

Abstract

Living wage campaigns have succeeded in about 100 jurisdictions in the United States, but they have also failed in numerous cities. Some were derailed by state legislative or judicial decisions, and others were voted down or vetoed at the city level. This paper exploits the information provided by these failed and derailed campaigns to estimate the effects of living wage laws. Specifically, these campaigns provide a better control group or counterfactual than do the broader set of all cities without a living wage law for estimating the effects of living wage laws. They also permit separate estimations of the effects of living wage laws and living wage campaigns. The findings indicate that living wage laws-especially those that cover business assistance recipients and those accompanied by similar laws in nearby cities-raise the wages of low-wage workers but also reduce employment among the least-skilled.

Suggested Citation

  • Scott Adams & David Neumark, 2004. "The Effects of Living Wage Laws: Evidence From Failed and Derailed Living Wage Campaigns," PPIC Working Papers 2004.12, Public Policy Institute of California.
    • Handle: RePEc:ppi:ppicwp:2004.12
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    To our knowledge, this item is not available for download. To find whether it is available, there are three options:
    1. Check below whether another version of this item is available online.
    2. Check on the provider's web page whether it is in fact available.
    3. Perform a search for a similarly titled item that would be available.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Scott Adams & David Neumark, 2005. "Living Wage Effects: New and Improved Evidence," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 19(1), pages 80-102, February.
    2. Scott Adams & David Neumark, 2004. "When Do Living Wages Bite?," PPIC Working Papers 2004.09, Public Policy Institute of California.
    3. Marianne P. Bitler & Jonah B. Gelbach & Hilary W. Hoynes, 2003. "Some Evidence on Race, Welfare Reform, and Household Income," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(2), pages 293-298, May.
    4. Marianne Bertrand & Esther Duflo & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2004. "How Much Should We Trust Differences-In-Differences Estimates?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(1), pages 249-275.
    5. John DiNardo & David S. Lee, 2002. "The Impact of Unionization on Establishment Closure: A Regression Discontinuity Analysis of Representation Elections," NBER Working Papers 8993, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Smith, James P & Welch, Finis, 1984. "Affirmative Action and Labor Markets," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 2(2), pages 269-301, April.
    7. Gruber, Jonathan, 1994. "The Incidence of Mandated Maternity Benefits," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(3), pages 622-641, June.
    8. David Neumark & Scott Adams, 2003. "Do Living Wage Ordinances Reduce Urban Poverty?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 38(3).
    9. Terry Thomason & Timothy P. Schmidle & John F. Burton Jr., 2001. "Workers' Compensation: Benefits, Costs, and Safety under Alternative Insurance Arrangements," Books from Upjohn Press, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, number wc, November.
    10. Burkhauser, Richard V & Couch, Kenneth A & Wittenburg, David C, 2000. "A Reassessment of the New Economics of the Minimum Wage Literature with Monthly Data from the Current Population Survey," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 18(4), pages 653-680, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. David Neumark & Matthew Thompson & Leslie Koyle, 2012. "The effects of living wage laws on low-wage workers and low-income families: What do we know now?," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 1(1), pages 1-34, December.
    2. Andrea Werner & Ming Lim, 2016. "The Ethics of the Living Wage: A Review and Research Agenda," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 137(3), pages 433-447, September.
    3. T. William Lester, 2011. "The Impact of Living Wage Laws on Urban Economic Development Patterns and the Local Business Climate: Evidence From California Cities," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 25(3), pages 237-254, August.
    4. Agarwal, Sumit & Ambrose, Brent W. & Diop, Moussa, 2022. "Minimum wage increases and eviction risk," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    5. Gary Fields, 2005. "Minimum Wages And Poverty," Working Papers id:169, eSocialSciences.
    6. Orazem, Peter F. & Tran, Thu, 2020. "To Inform or Influence? The Difference between Data Released by Nonprofits and by the Government," Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy, Mid-Continent Regional Science Association, vol. 50(1), March.
    7. Gary Fields & Ravi Kanbur, 2007. "Minimum wages and poverty with income-sharing," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 5(2), pages 135-147, August.
    8. Fone, Zachary S. & Sabia, Joseph J. & Cesur, Resul, 2023. "The unintended effects of minimum wage increases on crime," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 219(C).
    9. Jose Fernandez & Thomas Holman & John V. Pepper, 2014. "The Impact of Living-Wage Ordinances on Urban Crime," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(3), pages 478-500, July.
    10. Powers Elizabeth T & Powers Nicholas J, 2010. "Causes of Caregiver Turnover and the Potential Effectiveness of Wage Subsidies for Solving the Long-Term Care Workforce 'Crisis'," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 10(1), pages 1-30, January.
    11. Adam Seth Litwin & Phillip H. Phan, 2013. "Quality over Quantity: Reexamining the Link between Entrepreneurship and Job Creation," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 66(4), pages 833-873, July.
    12. Elizabeth Powers, 2009. "The Impact of Minimum-Wage Increases: Evidence from Fast-food Establishments in Illinois and Indiana," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 30(4), pages 365-394, December.
    13. Suzanne Clain, 2012. "Explaining the Passage of Living Wage Legislation in the U.S," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 40(3), pages 315-327, September.
    14. Aedin Doris & Donal O'Neill & Olive Sweetman, 2022. "The Introduction of a Living Wage in Ireland," Economics Department Working Paper Series n316-22.pdf, Department of Economics, National University of Ireland - Maynooth.
    15. Alexandros Karakitsios & Manos Matsaganis, 2018. "Minimum Wage Effects on Poverty and Inequality," DEOS Working Papers 1801, Athens University of Economics and Business.
    16. Lester, William T., 2009. "The Impact of Living Wage Laws on Urban Economic Development Patterns and the Local Business Climate: Evidence from California Cities," Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, Working Paper Series qt9313w788, Institute of Industrial Relations, UC Berkeley.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Scott Adams & David Neumark, 2004. "When Do Living Wages Bite?," PPIC Working Papers 2004.09, Public Policy Institute of California.
    2. Jose Fernandez & Thomas Holman & John V. Pepper, 2014. "The Impact of Living-Wage Ordinances on Urban Crime," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(3), pages 478-500, July.
    3. Fone, Zachary S. & Sabia, Joseph J. & Cesur, Resul, 2023. "The unintended effects of minimum wage increases on crime," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 219(C).
    4. Nikolov, Plamen & Adelman, Alan, 2019. "Do private household transfers to the elderly respond to public pension benefits? Evidence from rural China," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 14(C).
    5. Mark D. Brenner, 2004. "The Economic Impact of Living Wage Ordinances," Working Papers wp80, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
    6. Maclean, J. Catherine & Pichler, Stefan & Ziebarth, Nicolas R., 2020. "Mandated Sick Pay: Coverage, Utilization, and Welfare Effects," IZA Discussion Papers 13132, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. David Neumark, 2004. "Living Wages: Protection for or Protection from Low-Wage Workers?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 58(1), pages 27-51, October.
    8. David Neumark & Olena Nizalova, 2007. "Minimum Wage Effects in the Longer Run," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 42(2).
    9. Sarah Kroeger & Giulia La Mattina, 2017. "Assisted reproductive technology and women’s choice to pursue professional careers," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 30(3), pages 723-769, July.
    10. Marco Celentani & Miguel García-Posada & Fernando Gómez Pomar, 2022. "Fresh start policies and small business activity: evidence from a natural experiment," Working Papers 2210, Banco de España.
    11. Mergele, Lukas & Weber, Michael, 2020. "Public employment services under decentralization: Evidence from a natural experiment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    12. Schmidt, Lucie, 2007. "Effects of infertility insurance mandates on fertility," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 431-446, May.
    13. Thomas C. Buchmueller & John DiNardo & Robert G. Valletta, 2011. "The Effect of an Employer Health Insurance Mandate on Health Insurance Coverage and the Demand for Labor: Evidence from Hawaii," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 3(4), pages 25-51, November.
    14. M. Kate Bundorf & Melinda Henne & Laurence Baker, 2007. "Mandated Health Insurance Benefits and the Utilization and Outcomes of Infertility Treatments," NBER Working Papers 12820, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. E. Mark Curtis & Barry T. Hirsch & Mary C. Schroeder, 2016. "Evaluating Workplace Mandates with Flows Versus Stocks: An Application to California Paid Family Leave," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 83(2), pages 501-526, October.
    16. Pichler, Stefan & Ziebarth, Nicolas R., 2019. "Reprint of: The pros and cons of sick pay schemes: Testing for contagious presenteeism and noncontagious absenteeism behavior," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 86-104.
    17. Caitlin Knowles Myers, 2007. "A Cure for Discrimination? Affirmative Action and the Case of California's Proposition 209," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 60(3), pages 379-396, April.
    18. Dee, Thomas S. & Grabowski, David C. & Morrisey, Michael A., 2005. "Graduated driver licensing and teen traffic fatalities," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 571-589, May.
    19. Nikolov Plamen & Adelman Alan, 2018. "Short-Run Health Consequences of Retirement and Pension Benefits: Evidence from China," Forum for Health Economics & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 21(2), pages 1-27, December.
    20. Davydova, Yulia & Sokolov, Vladimir, 2014. "The real effects of financial constraints: Evidence from a debt subsidization program targeted at strategic firms," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 247-265.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy
    • J58 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Public Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ppi:ppicwp:2004.12. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ppiccus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.