The Other Margin: Do Minimum Wages Cause Working Hours Adjustments for Low-Wage Workers?

TY - JOUR

T1 - The Other Margin

T2 - Do Minimum Wages Cause Working Hours Adjustments for Low-Wage Workers?

AU - Stewart, M.B.

AU - Swaffield, J.K.

N1 - M1 - 297

PY - 2008/2

Y1 - 2008/2

N2 - This paper estimates the impact of the introduction of the UK minimum wage on the working hours of low-wage employees using difference-in-differences estimators. The estimates using the employer-based New Earnings Surveys indicate that the introduction of the minimum wage reduced the basic hours of low-wage workers by between one and two hours per week. The effects on total paid hours are similar (indicating negligible effects on paid overtime), and lagged effects dominate the smaller and less significant initial effects within this. Estimates using the employee-based Labour Force Surveys are typically less significant.

AB - This paper estimates the impact of the introduction of the UK minimum wage on the working hours of low-wage employees using difference-in-differences estimators. The estimates using the employer-based New Earnings Surveys indicate that the introduction of the minimum wage reduced the basic hours of low-wage workers by between one and two hours per week. The effects on total paid hours are similar (indicating negligible effects on paid overtime), and lagged effects dominate the smaller and less significant initial effects within this. Estimates using the employee-based Labour Force Surveys are typically less significant.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=37749017690&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/j.1468-0335.2007.00593.x

DO - 10.1111/j.1468-0335.2007.00593.x

M3 - Article

SN - 0013-0427

VL - 75

SP - 148

EP - 167

JO - Economica

JF - Economica

IS - 297

ER -