Minimum Wage Effects on Employment, Substitution, and the Teenage Labor Supply: Evidence from Personnel Data

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Labor Economics
Year: 2013
Volume: 31
Issue: 1
Pages: 155 - 194

Score contribution per author:

4.022 = (α=2.01 / 1 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Using personnel data from a large US retail firm, I examine the firm's response to the 1996 federal minimum wage increase. Compulsory increases in average wages had negative but statistically insignificant effects on overall employment. However, increases in the relative wages of teenagers led to significant increases in the relative employment of teenagers, especially younger and more affluent teenagers. Further analysis suggests a pattern consistent with noncompetitive models. Where the legislation affected mainly the wages of teenagers and so was only moderately binding, it led both to higher teenage labor market participation and to higher absolute employment of teenagers.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:ucp:jlabec:doi:10.1086/666921
Journal Field
Labor
Author Count
1
Added to Database
2026-01-25