Abstract
Background: Many states and localities throughout the U.S. have adopted higher minimum wages. Higher labor costs among low-wage food system workers could result in higher food prices. Methods: Using a market basket of 106 foods, food prices were collected at affected chain supermarket stores in Seattle and same-chain unaffected stores in King County (n = 12 total, six per location). Prices were collected at 1 month pre- (March 2015) and 1-month post-policy enactment (May 2015), then again 1-year post-policy enactment (May 2016). Unpaired t-tests were used to detect price differences by location at fixed time while paired t-tests were used to detect price difference across time with fixed store chain. A multi-level, linear differences-in-differences model, was used to detect the changes in the average market basket item food prices over time across regions, overall and by food group. Results: There were no significant differences in overall market basket or item-level costs at one-month (−$0.01, SE = 0.05, p = 0.884) or one-year post-policy enactment (−$0.02, SE = 0.08, p = 0.772). No significant increases were observed by food group. Conclusions: There is no evidence of change in supermarket food prices by market basket or increase in prices by food group in response to the implementation of Seattle’s minimum wage ordinance.
Highlights
An increasing number of cities and municipalities across the United States have raised, or are considering raising, their minimum wage with the intent of improving the well-being of low-wage workers and their families [1,2]
We have found no evidence of changes in chain supermarket food prices related to the implementation of Seattle’s ordinance
This study serves to provide both data for comparison and as a methodology that other municipalities might use to examine the impact of such a policy on their local supermarket food prices
Summary
An increasing number of cities and municipalities across the United States have raised, or are considering raising, their minimum wage with the intent of improving the well-being of low-wage workers and their families [1,2]. A few studies have investigated the effects of minimum wage policies on food security, diet quality, and associated health outcomes, such as obesity and diabetes [3,4,5,6,7,8]. Potential mediating factors of the relationships between minimum wage and health, such as food prices, need to be explored in greater detail. This is a salient issue for lower income households, including minimum wage workers, who have lower quality diets and are at higher risk for obesity and type 2 diabetes [9,10]. Higher labor costs among low-wage food system workers could result in higher food prices
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