Working Paper: NBER ID: w7454
Authors: Daniel P. Kessler; Lawrence Katz
Abstract: Prevailing wage laws, which require that construction workers employed by private contractors on public projects be paid at least the wages and benefits that are "prevailing" for similar work in or near the locality in which the project is located, have been the focus of an extensive policy debate. We find that the relative wages of construction workers decline slightly after the repeal of a state prevailing wage law. However, the small overall impact of law repeal masks substantial differences in outcomes for different groups of construction employees. Repeal is associated with a sizeable reduction in the union wage premium and a significant narrowing of the black/nonblack wage differential for construction workers.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: No JEL codes provided
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Repeal of state prevailing wage laws (H79) | Relative wages of construction workers (J39) |
| Repeal of state prevailing wage laws (H79) | Union wage premium (J31) |
| Repeal of state prevailing wage laws (H79) | Black/nonblack wage differential (J31) |