Do minimum wages raise employment? Evidence from the U.S. retail-trade sector

This paper examines the impact of minimum wages on earnings and employment in selected branches of the retail-trade sector, 1990–2005, using county-level data on employment and a panel regression framework that allows for county-specific trends in sectoral outcomes. We focus on specific subsectors w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Labour economics 2009-08, Vol.16 (4), p.397-408
Main Authors: Addison, John T., Blackburn, McKinley L., Cotti, Chad D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Border county analysis
County-level data
Minimum wages
Minimum wages Wages and employment County-level data Spatial trends Border county analysis Unions Right-to-work states
Right-to-work states
Spatial trends
Unions
Wages and employment
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Summary:This paper examines the impact of minimum wages on earnings and employment in selected branches of the retail-trade sector, 1990–2005, using county-level data on employment and a panel regression framework that allows for county-specific trends in sectoral outcomes. We focus on specific subsectors within retail trade that are identified as particularly low-wage. We find little evidence of disemployment effects once we allow for geographic-specific trends. Indeed, in many sectors the evidence points to modest (but robust) positive employment effects.
ISSN:0927-5371
1879-1034
DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2008.12.007