Could Raising the Minimum Wage Improve the Public’s Health?

Details

• Personal Author:
  Leigh JP
• Description:
  The minimum wage is once again generating contentious political debates. Virtually all the arguments involve economics, however. Questions pertain to the effects of increases in the minimum wage on poverty, unemployment, automation, job quality, income of low-wage workers, work hours, and income inequality. Rarely, if ever, do debates mention public health. But all these factors-poverty through income inequality-are widely researched in the Social Determinants of Health literature. Omission of public health from the debates, I believe, results from a paucity of research. Whereas some studies address living wages, wage theft, and the Earned Income Tax Credit, few public health researchers or epidemiologists address minimum wages. Moreover, despite the colossal number of minimum wage studies by economists, a meager number consider health. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Economics Epidemiology Occupational Health Public Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Economic Impact Public Health SDOH Social Determinants Of Health Worker Health
• ISSN:
  0090-0036
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  106
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20050756
• Citation:
  Am J Public Health 2016 Aug; 106(8):1355-1356
• Contact Point Address:
  J. Paul Leigh, Department of Public Health Sciences, UC Davis Medical School, MS1C, Davis, CA 95616-8638
• Email:
  pleigh@ucdavis.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of California - Davis
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20010930
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Public Health
• End Date:
  20270929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:bb477aca0701475acd7cdda73d83a9688040d42b9be71b08eb982f4b13fe763a5a35413cbec147e2d71fc0adfa90b54b54ae0bbf4543b56a680babef67bfb7f0
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/210979/cdc_210979_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 509.76 KB ]