The impact of the minimum wage on health

Elena Andreyeva and Benjamin Ukert
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Elena Andreyeva: University of Pennsylvania

International Journal of Health Economics and Management, 2018, vol. 18, issue 4, No 1, 337-375

Abstract: Abstract This study evaluates the effect of minimum wage on risky health behaviors, healthcare access, and self-reported health. We use data from the 1993–2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, and employ a difference-in-differences strategy that utilizes time variation in new minimum wage laws across U.S. states. Results suggest that the minimum wage increases the probability of being obese and decreases daily fruit and vegetable intake, but also decreases days with functional limitations while having no impact on healthcare access. Subsample analyses reveal that the increase in weight and decrease in fruit and vegetable intake are driven by the older population, married, and whites. The improvement in self-reported health is especially strong among non-whites, females, and married.

Keywords: Minimum wage; Risky health behaviors; Smoking; Drinking; BMI (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I10 I12 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (20)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10754-018-9237-0

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