What is it about?
We show that a $1 increase in the minimum wage resulted in a 19 - 32 percent decrease in absences due to workers’ own illnesses. The beneficial effects of minimum-wage increases were greatest for workers who did not work year-round and for those earning the lowest wages. There were no significant associations between minimum-wage raises and absences due to the illnesses of others, including children.
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Why is it important?
This study expands the national conversation about minimum wage policies to include how they affect the health of lower-wage workers, a population that has steadily grown in the U.S. over the past 15 years.
Perspectives
Our results support raising minimum wages because it can lead to previously unmeasured reductions in job absences and improvements in worker health.
Juan Du
Old Dominion University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Effects of Minimum Wages on Absence from Work Due to Illness, Advances in Economic Analysis & Policy, January 2018, De Gruyter,
DOI: 10.1515/bejeap-2017-0097.
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