Abstract
Based on 2016-20 hourly wage rates of McDonald's basic crew and Big Mac prices collected simultaneously from almost all US McDonald's, we find that in 25% of instances of minimum wage increases, restaurants keep constant their wage premium above the increasing minimum wage. Higher minimum wages are not associated with faster adoption of touch-screen ordering, and there is near-full price pass-through of minimum wages.
Minimum wage hikes lead to increases in real wages (expressed as how many Big Macs 1 hour of basic crew work can buy) that are one-fifth lower than the corresponding increases in nominal wages.