PERI - Measuring the Impact of Living Wage Laws: A Critical Appraisal of David Neumark's How Living Wage Laws Affect Low-Wage Workers and Low-Income Families

by: Mark D. Brenner, Jeannette Wicks-Lim, Robert Pollin

September 30, 2002 | Working Paper

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Type of publication: Working Paper
Research or In The Media: Research
Research Area: Labor Markets, Wages & Poverty
Publication Date: 2002-09-30
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Authors:
- Add Authors: Mark D. Brenner
- Add Authors: Jeannette Wicks-Lim
- Add Authors: Robert Pollin
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Drawing on data from the Current Population Survey (CPS), David Neumark (2002) finds that living wage laws have brought substantial wage increases for a high proportion of workers in cities that have passed these laws. He also finds that living wage laws significantly reduce employment opportunities for low-wage workers. We argue, first, that by truncating his sample to concentrate his analysis on low-wage workers, Neumark