Citation

Woods-Jaeger B, Jahangir T, Ash MJ, Komro KA, Belton IJ, Livingston M. Prev. Sci. 2024; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s11121-024-01714-6

PMID

39112906

Abstract

We examine and compare the relationship between minimum wage increases and youth homicide rates in three groups: all youth, White youth only, and Black youth only. Using 2001-2019 mortality data from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) for all 50 states and Washington DC, we apply a difference in differences (DD) design to compare the change in youth homicides across states with varying changes in the state-specific minimum wage. With the inclusion of state-specific linear time trends, we find that a $1 increase in minimum wage leads to a significant 4% reduction (RR = 0.96, 95%CI [0.92, 0.99]) in homicides among White youth, but no significant reduction among Black youth (RR = 0.98, 95%CI [0.91, 1.04]).

FINDINGS are consistent with research on marginalization-related diminished returns for Black youth. While minimum wage increases are a promising step to reduce youth homicides overall, reducing homicide disparities experienced by Black youth requires additional components. Future research should examine policies with the specific intention to dismantle structural racism.

Language: en

Keywords

Health disparities; Minimum wage; Youth homicide