AT Reich et al. no control group in the study—no way of knowing if increases in There’s employment were from living wage or exogenous factors. Holzer 08, (Harry J. Holzer, Georgetown University, Urban Institute and Institute for the Study of Labor, Wage Laws: How Much Do (Can) They Discussion Paper No. 3781, “Living Matter?” October 2008, http://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/35422/1/58433673X.pdf) [PDI] Reich et al. analyzed the extension of San living wage law to Francisco’s For instance, (2005) have in 1999 cover workers at San Francisco International Airport. They combine data from establishments at the airport, surveys of workers there, and administrative data. The study finds strong positive effects on the lowest-paid wages and reductions in inequality workers’ across worker groups. The positive effects at the bottom of the spectrum generate effects on wages above those levels. They also find “ripple” evidence of lower turnover and improved morale among workers. Additional costs to employers are estimated to be less than 1 percent of revenue. Finally, they find no evidence of reduced employment between 1998 and 2001; indeed, employment at the airport rose considerably this study contained no control group at all. A new over this time period. However, it is noteworthy that international terminal was opened at the airport during this time period, and no doubt the terminal contributed importantly to rising employment. Absent the extension of the living wage law, it is impossible to know what the counterfactual level of employment would be, and whether or how much decline there might have been because of that extension.
AT Reich et al. There’s no control group in the study—no way of knowing if increases in employment were from living wage or exogenous factors. Holzer 08, (Harry J. Holzer, Georgetown University, Urban Institute and Institute for the Study of Labor, “Living Wage Laws: How Much Do (Can) They Matter?” Discussion Paper No. 3781, October 2008, http://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/35422/1/58433673X.pdf) [PDI] For instance, Reich et al. (2005) have analyzed the extension of San Francisco’s living wage law in 1999 to cover workers at San Francisco International Airport. They combine data from establishments at the airport, surveys of workers there, and administrative data. The study finds strong positive effects on the lowest-paid workers’ wages and reductions in inequality across worker groups. The positive effects at the bottom of the spectrum generate “ripple” effects on wages above those levels. They also find evidence of lower turnover and improved morale among workers. Additional costs to employers are estimated to be less than 1 percent of revenue. Finally, they find no evidence of reduced employment between 1998 and 2001; indeed, employment at the airport rose considerably over this time period. However, it is noteworthy that this study contained no control group at all. A new international terminal was opened at the airport during this time period, and no doubt the terminal contributed importantly to rising employment. Absent the extension of the living wage law, it is impossible to know what the counterfactual level of employment would be, and whether or how much decline there might have been because of that extension.
Premier-Debate-Briefs-JF15.docx