State Minimum Wages, Employment, and Wage Spillovers: Evidence from Administrative Payroll Data

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Labor Economics
Year: 2021
Volume: 39
Issue: 3
Pages: 673 - 707

Authors (4)

Radhakrishnan Gopalan Barton H. Hamilton (not in RePEc) Ankit Kalda (not in RePEc) David Sovich (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 4 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

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

Abstract

We use administrative payroll data to estimate the effect of the minimum wage on employment and wages. We find that both effects are nuanced. While the overall number of low-wage workers in firms declines, incumbent workers are no less likely to remain employed. We find that firms reduce employment primarily through hiring, and there is significant heterogeneity across the nontradable and tradable sectors. For wages, we find modest spillovers extending up to $2.50 above the minimum wage. Spillovers accrue to both incumbent workers and new hires, but only within firms that employ a significant fraction of low-wage workers.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:ucp:jlabec:doi:10.1086/711355
Journal Field
Labor
Author Count
4
Added to Database
2026-01-25