Publication Selection Bias in Minimum-Wage Research? A Meta-Regression Analysis

Authors: Doucouliagos, Hristos¹; Stanley, T. D.²

Source: British Journal of Industrial Relations, Volume 47, Number 2, June 2009 , pp. 406-428(23)

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Abstract:

Card and Krueger's meta-analysis of the employment effects of minimum wages challenged existing theory. Unfortunately, their meta-analysis confused publication selection with the absence of a genuine empirical effect. We apply recently developed meta-analysis methods to 64 US minimum-wage studies and corroborate that Card and Krueger's findings were nevertheless correct. The minimum-wage effects literature is contaminated by publication selection bias, which we estimate to be slightly larger than the average reported minimum-wage effect. Once this publication selection is corrected, little or no evidence of a negative association between minimum wages and employment remains.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8543.2009.00723.x

Affiliations: 1: School of Accounting, Economics and Finance, Deakin University 2: Department of Economics, Hendrix College

Publication date: 2009-06-01