文章基本信息

标题：Estimation of Health Benefits From a Local Living Wage Ordinance
本地全文：下载
作者：Rajiv Bhatia ; Mitchell Katz
期刊名称：American journal of public health
印刷版ISSN：0090-0036
出版年度：2001
卷号：91
期号：9
页码：1398-1402
语种：English
出版社：American Public Health Association
摘要：Objectives. This study estimated the magnitude of health improvements resulting from a proposed living wage ordinance in San Francisco. Methods. Published observational models of the relationship of income to health were applied to predict improvements in health outcomes associated with proposed wage increases in San Francisco. Results. With adoption of a living wage of $11.00 per hour, we predict decreases in premature death from all causes for adults aged 24 to 44 years working full-time in families whose current annual income is $20 000 (for men, relative hazard [RH] = 0.94, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.92, 0.97; for women, RH = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.95, 0.98). Improvements in subjectively rated health and reductions in the number of days sick in bed, in limitations of work and activities of daily living, and in depressive symptoms were also predicted, as were increases in daily alcohol consumption. For the offspring of full-time workers currently earning $20 000, a living wage predicts an increase of 0.25 years (95% CI = 0.20, 0.30) of completed education, increased odds of completing high school (odds ratio = 1.34, 95% CI = 1.20, 1.49), and a reduced risk of early childbirth (RH = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.69, 0.86). Conclusions. A living wage in San Francisco is associated with substantial health improvement. The inverse relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and health, which has been extensively documented, 1 ^– 6 may be mediated by material, behavioral, psychosocial, or physiologic pathways. 2 ^, 7 ^– 9 Income is a widely used dimension of SES that at lower levels predicts poor health and premature death, whether measured at the individual or at the aggregate level. 10 ^– 13 Increasing the federal minimum wage is one means of limiting income poverty in the United States. Indeed, many municipalities in the United States have increased the minimum wage for certain sectors of the local labor force by establishing local “living wage” laws. In contrast to the national minimum wage, a living wage generates an income sufficient to meet subsistence needs such as food, shelter, clothing, transportation, and child care. 14 ^, 15 San Francisco's legislative board recently considered adopting a living wage of $11 per hour for workers of the city's contractors and property leaseholders. We estimated the magnitude of the anticipated health improvement associated with this legislation.