David Neumark
Distinguished Professor of Economics | UC Irvine
Irvine, CA, UNITED STATES
David Neumark is a labor economist whose work focuses on minimum wages, discrimination in the work force, and worker compensation.
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Biography
David Neumark is an American economist and a Chancellor's Professor of Economics at the University of California, Irvine, where he also directs the Economic Self-Sufficiency Policy Research Institute.
Neumark graduated with a B.A. in economics in 1982 from the University of Pennsylvania. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa, Summa Cum Laude, with Honors. He went on to complete his M.A. in 1985 and Ph.D. in 1987 in economics from Harvard University. His fields were labor economics and econometrics. His dissertation was entitled Male-Female Differentials in the Labor Force: Measurement, Causes and Probes, and published in parts in the Journal of Human Resources.
From 1989 to 1994, Neumark was an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Pennsylvania. He became a professor at Michigan State University in 1994 and remained at MSU until 2004. Since 2005, he is a Professor of Economics at the University of California, Irvine. He is also a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
Neumark's research interests include minimum wages and living wages, affirmative action, sex differences in labor markets, the economics of aging, and school-to-work programs, and has also done work in demography, health economics, development, industrial organization, and finance. His work has been published in economics journals like the American Economic Review, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, the Journal of Political Economy, the Journal of Labor Economics, the Journal of Human Resources. He is currently the editor of the IZA Journal of Labor Policy and a co-editor of the Journal of Urban Economics.
Areas of Expertise (5)
Health Economics
Finance
Gender Inequality in Relationships
Economics
Demographics
Accomplishments (3)
2016 Harris Distinguished Visiting Professor
Presented by Clemson University
2009 Choice Outstanding Academic Title
For "Minimum Wages"
2000 Minnesota Award
For “Age Discrimination Laws and Labor Market Efficiency”
Education (3)
Harvard University: Ph.D., Economics
Harvard University: M.A., Economics
University of Pennsylvania: B.A., Economics
Affiliations (2)
- NBER - Research Associate
- IZA - Research Fellow
Links (1)
Media Appearances (9)
Proposition 32 was just rejected. In blue California, why did the minimum-wage boost fail?
Los Angeles Times online
2024-11-19
David Neumark, a UC Irvine economist and national expert on minimum wages and their economic effects, said he was surprised by the outcome and that it was hard to pinpoint a single factor for the measure’s defeat. … “The argument that higher wages lead to lower employment does not have a lot of evidence going for it,” he said. “Instead, in situations where employers have some market power, higher minimum wages can raise employment.”
Lessons from business relocations in California
LAist online
2024-10-09
Despite complaints about high taxes, expensive housing and burdensome regulations — grousing that has been going on for decades — the state remains the national leader both for tech startups and for its share of big companies. “I agree California is a more onerous place to do business,” said David Neumark, a UC Irvine economics professor who has studied relocations. “But it’s not like we’re some basket case.” … Neumark, the UC Irvine professor, is working with Bohn on that research. He also co-authored a couple of research papers that examined the issue in 2004 and 2007, so he knows the concern about businesses leaving the state is not new.
What would eliminating taxes on tips mean?
Fox 11 Los Angeles online
2024-08-28
Both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have promised to eliminated taxes on tips for service workers if they're elected president. UC Irvine economics professor David Neumark weighs in on the pros and cons of the proposals. “Well, as an economist, it’s hard to come up with any pros. The policy really doesn’t make much sense. Obviously, if you’re a tip worker, you might like to pay less taxes on your income – but that’s true of everybody,” says Neumark.
Limited-time offer! If we raise the minimum wage right now, it will boost the job market — without costing us a dime
Business Insider online
2024-08-08
One of the tricky things standing in the way of a minimum-wage increase is a fear of what mandating higher pay might do to the labor market and the economy. … David Neumark, an economist at the University of California, Irvine … thinks a higher minimum would lead to job loss. He acknowledges that the grounds of the labor market have shifted, but he still doesn't think the federal minimum ought to go up — or, if it does, it should be indexed locally and to inflation. "It is certainly true that whatever the minimum wage was in any location three years ago or whatever, it is less binding now because wages have gone up," [David] Neumark said.
‘No Tax on Tips’ excites —and divides — Nevada voters
New York Post online
2024-08-05
Since the former president’s June 9 declaration of “No Tax on Tips” during a well-attended outdoor rally in Sin City, the idea has caught on with workers in several tip-reliant occupations, from brothels to beauty parlors. … Not everyone is delighted with the proposal, however. “I’m not sure why we would not tax their earnings versus other people’s earnings,” said David Neumark, distinguished professor of economics at the University of California, Irvine, who has studied the earnings of tipped workers. “Everyone should be treated the same.”
Opinion: Black and Hispanic youths pay the biggest price for minimum wage hikes
The Orange County Register online
2024-04-06
According to economist David Neumark of the University of California at Irvine, for every 10 percent increase in the minimum wage, employment for 16-19 year old black and Hispanic teens falls 6.6 percent. So, minimum wage increases not only stifles their economic growth and potential, but also perpetuates the stereotype of the “unemployable black man.” Rather than being lifted up by minimum wage laws, these young workers are being held back and robbed of opportunities to better themselves and their communities.
Opinion: California’s Crazy ‘Fast Food’ Minimum Wage Takes Effect
The Wall Street Journal online
2024-03-31
David Neumark, UCI Distinguished Professor of economics writes, “California’s fast-food minimum wage will make a bad policy even worse. It will reduce employment at fast-food restaurants, while failing to lift families out of poverty. Other research shows that it will raise fast-food prices and suggests these price increases are borne disproportionately by low-income families. Aside from these adverse effects, it is difficult to fathom any reason for special treatment of fast-food workers.”
Fast food chains, workers are bracing for California's minimum wage increase: What to know
USA Today online
2024-03-31
Other economists say the cost of raising the minimum wage is job loss: while a corporation like McDonalds can afford to pay their workers higher wages, it doesn't mean they won't respond to price changes, said David Neumark, a professor of economics at the University of California, Irvine. "These places can't function with no low-skilled labor, but they can function with less low-skilled labor," said Neumark. The professor said that some workers will continue to keep their jobs and have minimal hours cut. Others may lose their jobs all together or see a substantial decrease in work hours.
‘Winners and Losers’ as $20 Fast-Food Wage Nears in California
The New York Times online
2024-03-28
David Neumark, a professor of economics at the University of California, Irvine, said the impact would be more nuanced. “A higher minimum wage creates winners and losers,” he said. The winners will be workers who keep their jobs and at most have a modest reduction in hours, he said, while the losers will be those whose hours are substantially cut or who lose their jobs — along with smaller franchise owners who were already struggling to make much of a profit.
Articles (3)
Do opioids help injured workers recover and get back to work? the impact of opioid prescriptions on duration of temporary disability
National Bureau of Economic ResearchBogdan Savych, David Neumark, Randall Lea
2018 We estimate the effect of opioid prescriptions on the duration of temporary disability benefits among workers with work-related low back injuries. We use local opioid prescribing patterns to construct an instrumental variable that generates variation in opioid prescriptions but is arguably unrelated to injury severity or other factors affecting disability duration. Local prescribing patterns have a strong relationship with whether injured workers receive opioid prescriptions, including longer-term prescriptions. We find that more longer-term opioid prescribing leads to considerably longer duration of temporary disability, but little effect of a small number of opioid prescriptions over a short period of time.
People versus machines: the impact of minimum wages on automatable jobs
Labour EconomicsGrace Lordan, David Neumark
2018 We study the effect of minimum wage increases on employment in automatable jobs – jobs in which employers may find it easier to substitute machines for people – focusing on low-skilled workers for whom such substitution may be spurred by minimum wage increases. Based on CPS data from 1980 to 2015, we find that increasing the minimum wage decreases significantly the share of automatable employment held by low-skilled workers, and increases the likelihood that low-skilled workers in automatable jobs become nonemployed or employed in worse jobs. The average effects mask significant heterogeneity by industry and demographic group, including substantive adverse effects for older, low-skilled workers in manufacturing. We also find some evidence that the same changes improve job opportunities for higher-skilled workers. The findings imply that groups often ignored in the minimum wage literature are in fact quite vulnerable to employment changes and job loss because of automation following a minimum wage increase.
Declining Teen Employment: Minimum Wages, Other Explanations, and Implications for Human Capital Investment
Mercatus Working PaperDavid Neumark, Cortnie Shupe
2018 We explore the decline in teen employment in the United States since 2000, which was sharpest for those age 16–17. We consider three explanatory factors: a rising minimum wage that could reduce employment opportunities for teens and potentially increase the value of investing in schooling; rising returns to schooling; and increasing competition from immigrants that, like the minimum wage, could reduce employment opportunities and raise the returns to human capital investment. We find that higher minimum wages are the predominant factor explaining changes in the schooling and workforce behavior of those age 16–17 since 2000. We also consider implications for human capital. Higher minimum wages have led both to fewer teens in school and employed at the same time, and to more teens in school but not employed, which is potentially consistent with a greater focus on schooling. We find no evidence that higher minimum wages have led to greater human capital investment. If anything, the evidence points to adverse effects on longer-run earnings for those exposed to these higher minimum wages as teenagers.
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