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The Minimum Wage and the Earned Income Tax Credit: A Decade of Progress
July 2001 · Employment Policies Institute ·
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Winners and Losers of Federal and State Minimum Wages
June 2001 · Thomas MaCurdy - Stanford University, Frank McIntyre - Stanford University ·
During recent minimum wage and living wage debates, it is often heard that there is no job loss attached to a mandated wage increase. A majority of economists question the “no displacement” theory, but many policymakers and their constituents believe this theory to be true. Contrary to popular opinion, mandating a higher minimum wage comes at a cost. But what if, despite a credible body of economic… -
Does the Minimum Wage Reduce Poverty?
June 2001 · Richard Vedder - Ohio University, Lowell Gallaway - Ohio University ·
This study by economists Richard Vedder and Lowell Gallaway shows convincingly that minimum wages, because of inefficient targeting of the poor and unintended adverse consequences on employment and earnings, are ineffective as an antipoverty device. The report relies on an impressive array of empirical evidence showing that, however one views the data, in the United States, state and federal minimum wages have not reduced poverty. National Analysis… -
The Effect of Minimum Wages on the Labor Force Participation Rates of Teenagers
June 2001 · Walter Wessels - North Carolina State University ·
Congress has been considering a hike in the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.15 an hour or higher. It has been estimated that such a raise would affect over 10 million workers, many of whom are teenagers. A considerable body of research shows that while such increases might raise the wages of some workers, it would also eliminate jobs and work opportunities for others. For example,… -
State Flexibility: The Minimum Wage and Welfare Reform
March 2001 · Employment Policies Institute ·
Congress may soon be considering a hike in the national minimum wage under dramatically different circumstances then existed in prior debates. The primary changes result from the welfare reform law of 1996. That law, designed to “end welfare as we know it,” imposed enormous burdens on state governors to increase the workforce participation rate for families receiving public assistance. Today each state confronts new and unique demographic… -
The Effects of the Proposed California Minimum Wage Increase
October 2000 · Dr. David A. Macpherson - Florida State University ·
“Living wage” laws have been enacted in more than fifty states and cities. These laws force employers to pay wages above the federal minimum wage based on some definition of the needs of a hypothetical family, usually a family of four. In an attempt to increase the income of low-wage workers, living wage supporters have proposed state minimum wage levels greater than the federal minimum wage of…