Abstract
Based on 2016–20 hourly wage rates of McDonald’s basic crew and Big Mac prices collected simultaneously from almost all US Mc-Donald’s, we find that in 25% of instances of minimum wage increases, restaurants keep constant their wage premium above the increasing minimum wage. Higher minimum wages are not associated with faster adoption of touch-screen ordering, and there is near-full price pass-through of minimum wages. Minimum wage hikes lead to increases in real wages (expressed as how many Big Macs 1 hour of basic crew work can buy) that are one-fifth lower than the corresponding increases in nominal wages.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | S179-S201 |
| Journal | Journal of Labor Economics |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue number | S1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 2022 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Industrial relations
- Economics and Econometrics