The effects of recent minimum wage increases on self-reported health in the United States

Abstract

Minimum wage policy continues to receive considerable popular and legislative attention in the United States. Despite a fast-growing empirical literature on the relationship between the minimum wage and health, previous studies generally use data from the 1990s to 2014. In this study, we estimate the impact of recent changes in state-level minimum wages on the self-reported health of adults in the post-Great Recession era. Using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and a difference-in-differences design, we exploit more than 150 state-level increases in the minimum wage between 2011 and 2019. Our results indicate that a higher minimum wage increases men's physical and mental health burdens but has an ambiguous effect on a more general measure of health. Among women, the minimum wage improves general health and reduces their physical and mental health burdens. Compared to past studies, our work indicates that the relationship between the minimum wage and health has changed over time. It also illustrates the need for policymakers to consider the broader consequences of minimum wage policy, including health effects and gender differences therein.