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

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  • 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
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Scott Adams & David Neumark, 2004. "When Do Living Wages Bite?," PPIC Working Papers 2004.09, Public Policy Institute of California.
    2. 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.
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    5. Scott Adams & David Neumark, 2005. "Living Wage Effects: New and Improved Evidence," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 19(1), pages 80-102, February.
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    9. David Neumark & Scott Adams, 2003. "Do Living Wage Ordinances Reduce Urban Poverty?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 38(3).
    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.
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    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. Agarwal, Sumit & Ambrose, Brent W. & Diop, Moussa, 2022. "Minimum wage increases and eviction risk," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. 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).
    7. 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.
    8. 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.
    9. Alexandros Karakitsios & Manos Matsaganis, 2018. "Minimum Wage Effects on Poverty and Inequality," DEOS Working Papers 1801, Athens University of Economics and Business.
    10. 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.
    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. Fields, Gary S. & Kanbur, Ravi, 2005. "Minimum Wages and Poverty," Working Papers 127086, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    15. 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.
    16. 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.

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    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

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