In 2017, Seattle, Washington, became the first city in the United States to increase its minimum wage to $15 per hour, more than double the federal minimum wage. Not only was a $15 minimum wage unprecedented, but the increase was also extremely rapid, with the minimum wage rising by nearly 60% in just 2 years. Using a synthetic differences-in-differences estimator, we consider the impact of Seattle's landmark minimum wage legislation on public safety. Although there is speculative evidence for an increase in commercial burglaries, we find little evidence that Seattle experienced a change in its aggregate rate of violent or property offending relative to other U.S. cities. To better understand the mechanisms underlying our findings, we investigate the impacts of the local wage law on employment and earnings for Seattle's low-skilled labor market. We detect no meaningful adverse effects on the employment rates of low-wage workers.

中文翻译：

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在前沿测试公共政策：15 美元的最低工资对西雅图公共安全的影响

2017 年，华盛顿州西雅图成为美国第一个将最低工资提高到每小时 15 美元的城市，是联邦最低工资的两倍多。15 美元的最低工资不仅史无前例，而且增长速度也非常快，在短短两年内最低工资上涨了近 60%。使用综合差异估计器，我们考虑了西雅图具有里程碑意义的最低工资立法对公共安全的影响。尽管有推测性证据表明商业盗窃案有所增加，但我们发现几乎没有证据表明西雅图的暴力或财产犯罪率与美国其他城市相比发生了变化。为了更好地理解我们发现背后的机制，我们调查了当地工资法对西雅图就业和收入的影响 s 低技能劳动力市场。我们没有发现对低工资工人的就业率产生有意义的不利影响。