The effects of living wage laws on low-wage workers and low-income families: What do we know now?

Table 9 Estimated effects of living wages on income support and program participation, 1995-2003

	Public assistance/welfare		Food stamps		Any benefits from:
	Value of benefits	Any benefits	Value of food stamps	Any benefits	Free or reduced-price hot lunch	Public housing	Energy assistance
	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)
Sample mean	145.53	0.037	154.93	0.079	0.103	0.030	0.021
Specification 1
Log living wage, lagged 12 months	−14.857	0.001	−12.479	0.007	−0.019*	−0.017**	−0.009
Log living wage, lagged 12 months	(56.722)	(0.011)	(40.266)	(0.015)	(0.012)	(0.008)	(0.007)
Specification 2
Business assistance living wage laws:
Log living wage, lagged 12 months	−96.483	−0.025**	−23.055	−0.004	−0.024	−0.032**	−0.020**
Log living wage, lagged 12 months	(67.362)	(0.011)	(48.909)	(0.019)	(0.017)	(0.013)	(0.008)
Contractor-only living wage laws :
Log living wage, lagged 12 months	70.999	0.028**	−1.355	0.018	−0.014	−0.002	0.003
Log living wage, lagged 12 months	(71.827)	(0.014)	(59.606)	(0.021)	(0.013)	(0.008)	(0.009)
N	157,048	157,048	157,048	157,048	157,048	157,048	157,048

See notes to Tables 3 and 8. All specifications have city-specific trends. The benefits variables are annual. The specifications for receipt of benefits are linear probability models. ‘**’ (‘*’) superscript indicates estimate is statistically significant at five-percent (ten-percent) level. Reported standard errors are robust to nonindependence (and heteroscedasticity) within city cells (clustered by city).