The Unexpected Economics of Minimum Wages
Published on 19. August 2025
Book
Hardback
480 pages
978-1-0353-5887-8 (ISBN)
Description
This book presents a comprehensive analysis of the effects of minimum wages. Michael Reich's cutting-edge research findings challenge traditional approaches to the topic, exploring the effects of minimum wage policies across different sectors, groups and demographics.
Reich examines the effects of minimum wages on pay and employment among the two groups most affected by the policies - restaurant workers and teens - as well as investigating their impact on the lowest-wage areas of the US. He outlines how minimum wages influence parental labor supply, racial inequality, the health of low wage workers and government spending on food stamps and Medicaid. The book further reflects on the extension of pay standards to gig drivers, who are not typically covered by minimum wage laws as independent contractors. It concludes by demonstrating how minimum wages can be absorbed by increasing the supply of workers to low-wage employers, reducing the costs of recruiting and retaining workers and introducing modest price increases, rather than reducing employment.
The Unexpected Economics of Minimum Wages is a crucial resource for students, scholars and practitioners of labor economics. Thorough and detailed, it is also key for policymakers and advocates who are working to raise low pay and reduce inequality.
Reich examines the effects of minimum wages on pay and employment among the two groups most affected by the policies - restaurant workers and teens - as well as investigating their impact on the lowest-wage areas of the US. He outlines how minimum wages influence parental labor supply, racial inequality, the health of low wage workers and government spending on food stamps and Medicaid. The book further reflects on the extension of pay standards to gig drivers, who are not typically covered by minimum wage laws as independent contractors. It concludes by demonstrating how minimum wages can be absorbed by increasing the supply of workers to low-wage employers, reducing the costs of recruiting and retaining workers and introducing modest price increases, rather than reducing employment.
The Unexpected Economics of Minimum Wages is a crucial resource for students, scholars and practitioners of labor economics. Thorough and detailed, it is also key for policymakers and advocates who are working to raise low pay and reduce inequality.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cheltenham
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 244 mm
Width: 169 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-0353-5887-8 (9781035358878)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Michael Reich, Professor of Economics and Chair of the Center on Wage and Employment Dynamics, Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, University of California at Berkeley, USA
Content
Contents
PART I EFFECTS ON PAY, EMPLOYMENT, AND PRICES
1 The Ups and Downs of Minimum Wage Policy: The Fair Labor Standards Act in
Historical Perspective - Michael Reich 2
2 The Economic Effects of a Citywide Minimum Wage - Arindrajit Dube, Suresh
Naidu, and Michael Reich 11
3 Minimum Wage Effects Across State Borders: Estimates Using Contiguous
Counties - Arindrajit Dube, T. William Lester, and Michael Reich 33
4 Do Minimum Wages Really Reduce Teen Employment? Accounting for
Heterogeneity and Selectivity in State Panel Data - Sylvia A. Allegretto,
Arindrajit Dube, and Michael Reich 54
5 Minimum Wage Shocks, Employment Flows, and Labor Market Frictions -
Arindrajit Dube, T. William Lester, and Michael Reich 90
6 Are Local Minimum Wages Absorbed by Price Increases? Estimates from
Internet-Based Restaurant Menus - Sylvia A. Allegretto and Michael Reich 132
7 Are Minimum Wage Effects Greater in Low-Wage Areas? - Anna Godoy and
Michael Reich 161
PART II DOWNSTREAM EFFECTS
8 Parental Labor Supply: Evidence from Minimum Wage Changes - Anna Godoy,
Michael Reich, Jesse Wursten, and Sylvia A. Allegretto 210
9 Racial Inequality in Frictional Labor Markets: Evidence from Minimum Wages -
Jesse Wursten and Michael Reich 237
10 Ten Dollars or Thirteen Dollars? Comparing the Effects of State Minimum Wage
Increases in California - Sylvia A. Allegretto, Michael Reich, and Rachel West 256
11 A Win-Win for Working Families and State Budgets: Pairing Medicaid Expansion
and a $10.10 Minimum Wage - Rachel West and Michael Reich 285
12 The Effects of Minimum Wages on Food Stamp Enrollment and Expenditures -
Michael Reich and Rachel West 321
13 Can Labor Market Policies Reduce Deaths of Despair? - William H. Dow, Anna
Godoy, Christopher Lowenstein, and Michael Reich 348
14 An Earnings Standard for New York City's App-Based Drivers: Economic
Analysis and Policy Assessment - James A. Parrott and Michael Reich 367
15 New York City's Gig Driver Pay Standard: Effects on Drivers, Passengers, and
the Companies - Dmitri Koustas, James A. Parrott, and Michael Reich 454
PART I EFFECTS ON PAY, EMPLOYMENT, AND PRICES
1 The Ups and Downs of Minimum Wage Policy: The Fair Labor Standards Act in
Historical Perspective - Michael Reich 2
2 The Economic Effects of a Citywide Minimum Wage - Arindrajit Dube, Suresh
Naidu, and Michael Reich 11
3 Minimum Wage Effects Across State Borders: Estimates Using Contiguous
Counties - Arindrajit Dube, T. William Lester, and Michael Reich 33
4 Do Minimum Wages Really Reduce Teen Employment? Accounting for
Heterogeneity and Selectivity in State Panel Data - Sylvia A. Allegretto,
Arindrajit Dube, and Michael Reich 54
5 Minimum Wage Shocks, Employment Flows, and Labor Market Frictions -
Arindrajit Dube, T. William Lester, and Michael Reich 90
6 Are Local Minimum Wages Absorbed by Price Increases? Estimates from
Internet-Based Restaurant Menus - Sylvia A. Allegretto and Michael Reich 132
7 Are Minimum Wage Effects Greater in Low-Wage Areas? - Anna Godoy and
Michael Reich 161
PART II DOWNSTREAM EFFECTS
8 Parental Labor Supply: Evidence from Minimum Wage Changes - Anna Godoy,
Michael Reich, Jesse Wursten, and Sylvia A. Allegretto 210
9 Racial Inequality in Frictional Labor Markets: Evidence from Minimum Wages -
Jesse Wursten and Michael Reich 237
10 Ten Dollars or Thirteen Dollars? Comparing the Effects of State Minimum Wage
Increases in California - Sylvia A. Allegretto, Michael Reich, and Rachel West 256
11 A Win-Win for Working Families and State Budgets: Pairing Medicaid Expansion
and a $10.10 Minimum Wage - Rachel West and Michael Reich 285
12 The Effects of Minimum Wages on Food Stamp Enrollment and Expenditures -
Michael Reich and Rachel West 321
13 Can Labor Market Policies Reduce Deaths of Despair? - William H. Dow, Anna
Godoy, Christopher Lowenstein, and Michael Reich 348
14 An Earnings Standard for New York City's App-Based Drivers: Economic
Analysis and Policy Assessment - James A. Parrott and Michael Reich 367
15 New York City's Gig Driver Pay Standard: Effects on Drivers, Passengers, and
the Companies - Dmitri Koustas, James A. Parrott, and Michael Reich 454