Minimum-Wage Effects on Human Capital Accumulation: Evidence from Canadian Data
利用加拿大纵向数据，研究了最低工资对个人中学后教育决策的影响，发现最低工资提高会增加社区学院入学率但降低大学入学率，并扩大不同家庭背景学生的大学参与差距。
We investigate the effect of the minimum wage on individuals’ postsecondary schooling decisions. Using Canadian longitudinal data, we explore 136 minimum-wage amendments and find three novel results. First, the minimum wage affects both the quantity and type of human capital acquired by students. A 10% increase in the minimum wage increases community-college enrollment by 6.2% but reduces university enrollment by 6.5%. Second, high minimum wages widen the university participation gap between individuals with different levels of parental education. Finally, minimum-wage hikes encourage workers who recently separated from their jobs to return to postsecondary education as mature students.