Employer Responses to a City-Level Minimum Wage Mandate: Early Evidence from Seattle

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 451-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Romich ◽  
Scott W. Allard ◽  
Emmi E. Obara ◽  
Anne K. Althauser ◽  
James H. Buszkiewicz
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Minimum Wage ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Ownership Structures ◽  
Early Evidence ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Wage Regulation ◽  
Accommodation Sector ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Insight Into

A growing number of cities and counties have recently raised their minimum wages. How employers respond to these mandates provides insight into the impact such policies might have on workers and local labor market. Drawing on two survey waves tracking initial responses to Seattle’s $15 Minimum Wage Ordinance by 439 employers with low-wage workers, we show how employers adjusted to higher wages. Most commonly, firms raised prices (56% reported this); smaller percentages reduced employee headcount or hours, limited internal wage progression, or took other measures. Single-site Seattle employers responded similarly to those with multiple sites. Food and accommodation sector employers were more likely to raise prices than firms in other sectors. Relative to other ownership structures, franchises disproportionately reported reducing their workforces. Very few employers reported withdrawing from Seattle. Overall, initial employer responses to this city-level minimum wage law align with predictions from the literature, findings that highlight trade-offs that policy makers must consider in future local wage regulation.

scholarly journals City Limits: What Do Local-Area Minimum Wages Do?

2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-50
Author(s):  
Arindrajit Dube ◽  
Attila Lindner
Keyword(s):  
Minimum Wage ◽  
Local Variation ◽  
Local Area ◽  
Minimum Wages ◽  
Level Variation ◽  
Early Evidence ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Federal Standard ◽  
The Impact ◽  
New Evidence

Cities are increasingly setting their own minimum wages, and this trend has accelerated sharply in recent years. While in 2010 there were only three cities with their own minimum wages exceeding the state or federal standard, by 2020 there were 42. This new phenomenon raises the question: is it desirable to have city-level variation in minimum wage polices? We discuss the main trade-offs emerging from local variation in minimum wage polices and evaluate their empirical relevance. First, we document what type of cities raise minimum wages, and we discuss how these characteristics can potentially impact the effectiveness of city-level minimum wage policies. Second, we summarize the evolving evidence on city-level minimum wage changes and provide some new evidence of our own. Early evidence suggests that the impact of the policy on wages and employment to date has been broadly similar to the evidence on state- and federal-level minimum wage changes. Overall, city-level minimum wages seem to be able to tailor the policy to the local economic environment without imposing substantial distortions in allocation of labor and businesses across locations.

The Impact of the Public Expenditure Cuts Policy on the Labor Market in Vietnam

2012 ◽  
pp. 22-46
Author(s):  
Huong Nguyen Thi Lan ◽  
Toan Pham Ngoc
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Computable General Equilibrium ◽  
Impact Evaluation ◽  
Public Expenditure ◽  
Computable General Equilibrium Model ◽  
Living Standard ◽  
Input Output ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Impact

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of public expenditure cuts on employment and income to support policies for the development of the labor mar- ket. Impact evaluation is of interest for policy makers as well as researchers. This paper presents a method – that is based on a Computable General Equilibrium model – to analyse the impact of the public expenditure cuts policy on employment and income in industries and occupations in Vietnam using macro data, the Input output table, 2006, 2008 and the 2010 Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey.

scholarly journals Ownership structure and voluntary disclosure in corporate annual reports of Malaysian listed firms

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 296-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Poh-Ling Ho ◽  
Gregory Tower
Keyword(s):  
Ownership Structure ◽  
Voluntary Disclosure ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Institutional Ownership ◽  
Ownership Concentration ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Ownership Structures ◽  
The Impact

This paper examines the impact of ownership structure on the voluntary disclosure in the annual reports of Malaysian listed firms. The result shows that there is an increase in the extent of voluntary disclosure in Malaysian listed firms over the eleven-year period from 1996 to 2006. Ownership concentration consistently shows positive association with voluntary disclosure. Firms with higher foreign and institutional ownership have a significantly positive association with voluntary disclosure levels while firms with family ownership exhibit lower voluntary disclosure. Consistent with agency theory, different ownership structures have varied monitoring effects on agency costs and clearly influence firm’s disclosure practices. The findings provide insights to policy makers and regulators in their desire to increase transparency and accountability amidst the continual enhancement of corporate governance. The findings provide evidence that optimized ownership structure in any jurisdiction should be considered in any regulatory process that seeks to improve transparency.

scholarly journals Is the Minimum Wage Effective in a Context of Informality?

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 21
Author(s):  
Susana Herrero Olarte
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Minimum Wage ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Labor Income ◽  
South American ◽  
Poverty And Inequality ◽  
South American Region ◽  
Effect Estimation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

There is a general trend in the South American region to increase the minimum wage (MW) to reduce poverty and inequality. However, empirical studies are inconclusive with respect to the effect of the MW. This study seeks to contribute to the empirical evidence regarding the impact of this policy by exploring its limitations and possibilities for reducing poverty in Ecuador. Unlike other studies, a measure to capture informality in the labor market is included. Using fixed effect estimation with panel data, I determine the relationship between labor income deciles and variations in the MW, using a proxy for its effectiveness. The results suggest that the MW positively affects the lower income deciles, to a lesser extent the intermediate deciles and with no effect on the higher ones. However, when considering a control for the degree of informality in the labor market, the effect on the lower deciles is mitigated. Therefore, increases in the MW may be a strategy to increase the income of the middle and vulnerable class, but it does not seem to be useful for reducing poverty.

scholarly journals The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on conventional work settings

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (9/10) ◽  
pp. 909-927
Author(s):  
Randa Diab-Bahman ◽  
Abrar Al-Enzi
Keyword(s):  
Working Conditions ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Phenomenological Approach ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Crowd Sourcing ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Insight Into

PurposeTo give insight into human resource (HR) policy makers of the impact of the abrupt change in working conditions as reported from their primary stakeholders – the employees.Design/methodology/approachReported from a first-person point of view, 192 employees from Kuwait who are currently working from home were surveyed as to how the lockdown circumstances have impacted their conventional work expectations. The study compares the old working conditions (OWC) to the current working conditions (CWC) to give insight into the overall sentiments of the abrupt changes to the workplace.FindingsIt was found that most employees agreed that OWC need to be reviewed, and that the general sentiment was almost equally split on the efficiency of CWC in comparison to OWC, yet the majority was enjoying the flexible conditions. Moreover, the majority of respondents found that overall conventional work elements either remained the same or had been impacted positively rather than negatively. Also, if given an option of a hybrid model inclusive of partly working remotely and partly working on-site, a considerable majority reported that they are able to efficiently conduct atleast 80% of their work expectation. Finally, it was found that employee expectation is changing as they consider post COVID-19 conditions.Research limitations/implicationsThis research was conducted using virtual crowd-sourcing methods to administer the survey and may have been enhanced should other methods have been integrated for data gathering. Also, a more comprehensive phenomenological approach could have been incorporated to add a qualitative method to the investigation. This could have freed the results of answer limitation and experience bias. Moreover, it is good practice to involve both quantitative and qualitative elements to any research when possible. Finally, future research can benefit from a bigger pool of participants so as to gain a clearer picture.Originality/valueThis research will give policy makers a look at what needs to be reviewed/changed for a successful roll-out of remote work in accordance with their original strategies.

Book Reviews

2013 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 558-560
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Minimum Wage ◽  
Job Search ◽  
Labor Market Outcomes ◽  
Minimum Wages ◽  
New York University ◽  
Market Outcomes ◽  
Welfare Impacts ◽  
Wage Effects ◽  
The Impact

Etienne Wasmer of Sciences Po and LIEPP reviews, “The Minimum Wage and Labor Market Outcomes” by Christopher J. Flinn. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Presents a model based on search and bargaining to use in investigating the impact of a minimum wage on labor market outcomes. Discusses descriptive evidence on minimum wage effects; a model of minimum wage effects on labor market careers; labor market and welfare impacts of minimum wages; minimum wage effects on labor market outcomes—a selective survey; assessing the welfare impacts of actual changes in the minimum wage; econometric issues; model estimates and tests; optimal minimum wages; the on-the-job search; and heterogeneity. Flinn is Professor of Economics at New York University and Senior Research Fellow at Collegio Carlo Alberto.”

The Impact of the Minimum Wage on the Labor Market, Poverty and Fiscal Budget in Brazil

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Natan Foguel ◽  
Lauro Roberto Ramos ◽  
Francisco Galrao Carneiro
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Minimum Wage ◽  
The Impact

The impact of reporting suspicious transactions regime on banks: Malaysian experience

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aspalella A. Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Money Laundering ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Effective Implementation ◽  
Terrorism Financing ◽  
The One ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Insight Into

PurposeReporting suspicious transactions under anti‐money laundering (AML) laws creates a major dilemma for banks. On the one hand, failure to report suspicious transactions is an offence under the laws. On the other hand, if they report the transaction, they may breach their duty of confidentiality to their customer or could be liable for tipping off the suspected customer. More importantly, it can also undermine customers' trust. The purpose of this paper is to look into these issues and analyse them against the background of the Malaysian AML laws.Design/methodology/approachThis paper mainly relies on statutes as its primary sources of information. As such, the relevant Malaysian AML that affect the reporting obligations will be identified and analyzed. It will be necessary to examine not just the provisions of the Malaysian Anti‐Money Laundering and Anti‐Terrorism Financing Act, but also its regulations and guidelines which affect banks in detail, as this is the most important legislation for the purpose of this paper.FindingsIt is apparent that the reporting suspicious transactions regime has had a significant impact on the operations of banks in Malaysia. While the regime is based on sound principles, the effectiveness of the regime is still unknown. As such, only time will tell whether the banks will be able to cope sufficiently with the increased AML obligations. Obviously, it is critical at this stage, to establish effective coordination between legislators, regulators and the banking industry, in order to minimize problems faced by the banks and thereby to ensure effective implementation of the regime.Originality/valueThis paper provides an examination of the impact of the reporting suspicious transactions regime on Malaysian banks. It is hoped that the study would provide some insight into this particular area for academics, banks, their legal advisers, practitioners and policy makers, not only in Malaysia but also elsewhere. In view of the international nature of money laundering and banking, there will be significant interest in how the AML laws affect banks operating in Malaysia.

scholarly journals Minimum wage regulation in Switzerland: survey evidence for restaurants in the canton of Neuchâtel

2020 ◽  
Vol 156 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marius Berger ◽  
Bruno Lanz
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Minimum Wage ◽  
Hourly Wage ◽  
Wage Increase ◽  
Court Ruling ◽  
Supreme Court Ruling ◽  
Swiss Canton ◽  
Wage Regulation ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThis paper provides a first set of results on the impact of minimum wage regulation in Switzerland. We study the effects of an unexpected Supreme Court ruling mandating the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel to enforce a minimum hourly wage of around CHF 20 previously accepted via popular ballot. Given policy discontinuity at cantonal borders, we design a two-wave survey of restaurants to measure wages, employment, workers’ characteristics, and prices and administer it in Neuchâtel as well as in geographically proximate districts of neighboring cantons. Our data covers pre- and post-enforcement outcomes for around 100 restaurants, with information for more than 800 employees distributed over two-survey waves. Our data suggest that the proportion of workers paid below minimum wage went down from 19% to 5% after the introduction of the policy. This decline is compensated by a significant increase of the workforce paid just above minimum wage, and our results suggest that restaurants did not use employment as a margin of adjustment. We also find evidence that the policy affected the distribution of hourly wages up to CHF 6 above the minimum wage, with some workers initially paid above minimum wage experiencing a wage increase.

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