What Does the Research Tell Us about Prevailing Wage Laws?

Abstract

This paper reviews the research on prevailing wage laws. These policies establish location and job-specific minimum compensation rates for construction workers and apply to projects funded by the federal government, twenty-seven states, and numerous municipalities. Prevailing wage laws are controversial and are a source of ongoing policy debate. To better inform this debate this review finds that the most methodologically advanced research generally indicates that prevailing wage laws do not affect construction costs, promote worker safety and training, and do not have a racially discriminatory impact.