The Effect of Minimum Wages on Low-Wage Jobs
The authors estimate the employment effects of US state-level minimum wage increases by examining changes in the entire frequency distribution of hourly wages around each policy change. Using a bunching estimator across 138 prominent state-level increases, they count the number of jobs lost below the new minimum and the number gained at or above it. They find the number of jobs paying below the new minimum fell while jobs at or above it rose by roughly the same amount, implying minimal disemployment effects.