The Contribution of the Minimum Wage to US Wage Inequality over Three Decades
A Reassessment
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23367306 |
|---|---|
| Authors | David H Autor (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), David Autor (0000-0002-6915-9381, National Bureau of Economic Research), Alan Manning (0000-0002-7884-3580, London School of Economics and Political Science), Christopher L Smith (0000-0002-3837-8338, Federal Reserve Board of Governors) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 58-99 |
| Publication date | 2016-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Economic Journal Applied Economics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1945-7790 • E-ISSN: 1945-7782 |
| Publisher | American Economic Association (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1257/app.20140073 |
| OpenAlex | W1524670652 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 76 |
| References cited | 19 |
We reassess the effect of minimum wages on US earnings inequality using additional decades of data and an IV strategy that addresses potential biases in prior work. We find that the minimum wage reduces inequality in the lower tail of the wage distribution, though by substantially less than previous estimates, suggesting that rising lower tail inequality after 1980 primarily reflects underlying wage structure changes rather than an unmasking of latent inequality. These wage effects extend to percentiles where the minimum is nominally nonbinding, implying spillovers. We are unable to reject that these spillovers are due to reporting artifacts, however. (JEL J22, J31, J38, K31)
Distribution (mathematics) · Earnings · Economics · Efficiency wage · Inequality · Labour economics · Minimum wage · Wage · Wage Inequality · Work (physics) · Employment and Welfare Studies · Labor market dynamics and wage inequality · Mathematics · Monetary Policy and Economic Impact
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| Unique citing works | 76 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 6,33 |
| Citation span | 2014 - 2026 (13) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 65 |