Before they write another commentary arguing for a minimum-wage hike, Aaron Sojourner and Michael Reich should make sure they don’t base their argument on a disproven study (“Is a raise in order for Minnesotans?” Feb. 24).
The 1994 study they cite, by David Card and Alan Krueger, was subsequently disproved by economists David Neumark and William Wascher. After correcting for substantial errors in the data set used by Card and Krueger, they found a 3.9 to 4 percent decrease in employment following a wage hike — rather than the gains noted by Card and Krueger. As a result, Card and Krueger revised their original claims about minimum-wage increases boosting employment
The debate in Minnesota over a minimum-wage hike should be based on facts, not misinformation. There’s a reason why 85 percent of the most credible research points to a loss of job opportunities following a minimum wage hike.
Michael Saltsman is the research director at the Employment Policies Institute.