Replication of Card and Krueger (1994): Minimum Wage and Employment

This paper replicates and extends the findings of Card and Krueger’s 1994 study on the employment effects of a minimum wage increase in New Jersey. Using data from fast-food restaurants in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the analysis applies a difference-in-differences approach to compare employment changes before and after the policy shift. The results confirm the original study’s conclusion: the minimum wage increase did not reduce employment and may have led to modest job growth. Additional analysis shows that stores initially paying lower wages experienced greater employment gains, suggesting that the policy’s impact varied across wage levels. The study reinforces the value of empirical evidence in shaping labor policy debates.