Research Report The Response of Hours of Work to Increases in the Minimum Wage
Kenneth Couch, David Wittenburg
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This paper examines the effect of minimum wage increases on the hours of work of teenagers (ages 16 to 19) using monthly data from the Current Population Survey. Our findings are consistent with the prediction from neoclassical theory that minimum wage increases have a negative effect on labor demand. However, the estimates we provide here for the elasticity of hours of teen labor demanded with respect to the minimum wage suggest that alternative estimates based on aggregate employment consistently understate the total impact of minimum wage increases on teenage labor utilization.
Research Areas Education Wealth and financial well-being Children and youth
Tags Wages and nonwage compensation Economic well-being Minimum wage