Effects of the Minimum Wage on Infant Health

George Wehby, Dhaval Dave, Robert Kaestner

NBER Working Paper No. 22373
Issued in June 2016, Revised in March 2018
NBER Program(s):Program on Children, Health Care Program, Health Economics Program, Law and Economics Program, Labor Studies Program, Public Economics Program

The minimum wage has increased in multiple states over the past three decades. We examine the impact of the state minimum wage on infant health. Using data on the universe of births in the US over 24 years, we find that an increase in the minimum wage is associated with an increase in birth weight driven by increased gestational length and fetal growth rate. The effect size is meaningful and plausible. We also find an increase in prenatal care use and a decline in smoking during pregnancy, which are some channels through which minimum wage can affect infant health.

Acknowledgments

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Document Object Identifier (DOI): 10.3386/w22373

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