THE EFFECT OF CHANGES IN THE REAL MINIMUM WAGE ON TEENAGE EMPLOYMENT EVIDENCE FROM URBAN-AREA DATA

This study presents estimates of the effect of changes in the real minimum wage on the employment ratio of three groups believed to be most vulnerable to changes in the minimum wage: teenagers, young adults, and adult high-school dropouts. It also examines the effect of the minimum wage on three sub-groups within each of these larger groups: males, females, and nonwhites. The data set was obtained from the monthly outgoing rotation groups of the Current Population Survey (CPS), Three Budgets for Urban Families, and the CPI-W for various urban areas. The sample period is 1979–1999.