THE MINIMUM-WAGE AND THE EMPLOYMENT OF YOUTH - EVIDENCE FROM THE NLSY

Using panel data on individuals from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we find that employed individuals who were affected by the i ncreases in the federal minimum wage in 1979 and 1980 were about 3 per cent less likely to be employed a year later, even after accounting fo r the fact that workers employed at the minimum wage may differ from t heir peers in unobserved ways.