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Journal of Labor Economics Vol. 36 No. 1 2018

Minimum Wages and Firm Value

Brian Bell1; Stephen Machin2

1 King's College London · 2 London School of Economics and Political Science

open access

Abstract

How does firm value change in response to a minimum wage hike? This paper exploits the announcement of a big change in the UK minimum wage that was both totally unanticipated and free of uncertainty. The stock market response to this is examined in an event study setting. The analysis uncovers significant falls in the stock market value of low-wage firms. In light of this finding, the paper concludes by discussing magnitudes of response, including longer-term modes of firm adjustment to the cost shock induced by the minimum wage hike.

DOI
10.1086/693870
Volume
36
Issue
1
Pages
159-195
Language
en
Sources
openalex crossref

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