Does the minimum wage affect welfare caseloads?

Marianne Page, Joanne Spetz () and Jane Millar
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Jane Millar: University of California, Davis, Postal: University of California, Davis

Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 2005, vol. 24, issue 2, 273-295

Abstract: Although minimum wages are advocated as a policy that will help the poor, few studies have examined their effect on poor families. This paper uses variation in minimum wages across states and over time to estimate the impact of minimum wage legislation on welfare caseloads. We find that the elasticity of the welfare caseload with respect to the minimum wage is between 0.1 and 0.2, but this estimate is sensitive to the sample period and assumptions about state trends. We tentatively conclude that higher minimum wages increase welfare dependence; however, more research is warranted.© 2005 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management

Date: 2005
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (25)

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Working Paper: Does the Minimum Wage Affect Welfare Caseloads? (2000)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:jpamgt:v:24:y:2005:i:2:p:273-295

DOI: 10.1002/pam.20090

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