Time-Series Evidence of the Effect of the Minimum Wage on Teenage Employment and Unemployment

摘要

The study compares the results of different model specifications and includes a longer sample period (1954-79) than most of the previous studies. An index of the minimum wage which combines the relative level and coverage of the minimum wage into a single variable is used to estimate minimum wage effects. The authors find that a 10% increase in this index (i.e., a 10% increase in either the relative level or fraction of workers subject to the minimum wage) reduces teenage employment by roughly 1%.