Working Paper: NBER ID: w28375
Authors: Nicole M. Fortin; Thomas Lemieux; Neil Lloyd
Abstract: This paper examines the role of spillover effects of minimum wages and threat effects of unionization in changes in wage inequality in the United States between 1979 and 2017. A distribution regression framework is introduced to estimate both types of spillover effects. Threat effects double the contribution of de-unionization to the increase in male wage inequality. Spillover effects magnify the explanatory power of declining minimum wages to two-thirds of the increase in inequality at the bottom end of the female wage distribution.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: D31; J31; J51; J80
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Minimum wage changes (J38) | Wage inequality (J31) |
| Spillover effects of minimum wages (J38) | Wage inequality (J31) |
| Unionization (J51) | Nonunion wages (J39) |
| Threat effects from unionization (J51) | Contribution of deunionization to male wage inequality (J79) |
| Deunionization (J51) | Wage inequality (J31) |
| Minimum wage changes (J38) | Lower tail inequality (5010) (D63) |
| Changes in labor market institutions (J08) | Growth in standard deviation of log wages for men (J39) |
| Changes in labor market institutions (J08) | Growth in standard deviation of log wages for women (J39) |