Dawn of the living wage: the diffusion of a redistributive municipal policy
- 2001
- p.470-96
- Mar
From 1994 to 1999, 22 large American cities passed "living wage" laws that mandate wages above poverty for certain workers in the private sector. The author argues that political conditions, rather than economic conditions such as urban poverty, best explain the emergence and success of the living wage movement. Quantitative and qualitative evidence shows that living wage policies result from the interaction of national progressive networks with local actors and opportunities. He also argues that federalist government enables as well as constrains local progressivism by favoring policy diffusion among cities. - Reproduced