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The Minimum Wage, Self-Employment, and the Online Gig Economy

Benjamin Glasner

Columbia University

Journal of Labor Economics 2023

This paper estimates the effect of minimum wage increases on work that is not covered by minimum wage laws. I find that minimum wage increases in the early 2000s resulted in small reductions in engagement in traditional self-employment. Following the development of the online gig economy in the 2010s, a 10% increase in the minimum wage increased the number of nonemployer establishments classified as transportation and warehousing services by approximately 2.7%. The counties most likely to exhibit a positive relationship between the minimum wage and participation in uncovered work are those with low labor market concentration and active Uber marketplaces.

DOI
10.1086/719690
Volume
41 (1)
Pages
103-127
Language
en
Export
BibTeX
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