EPI Research (Page 17 )

  • The Economic Impact of Proposition 72 on California Employers

    September 2004

    On January 1, 2006, California businesses will be subjected to one of the most costly and inefficient pieces of labor law legislation ever created. California’s Senate Bill 2 (referred to in this study interchangeably as SB 2, the Health Insurance Act of 2003, HIA, and Proposition 72) requires all employers in California with more than 20 employees to provide full medical insurance for their employees.…

  • The Effects of the Proposed California Minimum Wage Increase

    August 2004

    On August 23, 2004 the California legislature passed an increase in the minimum wage to $7.75 an hour. This study evaluates the consequences of the proposed increase, with a focus on the potential impact on California’s labor market.

    This report, by Dr. David Macpherson from Florida State University and the Employment Policies Institute, uses Current Population Survey data and labor demand estimates (as reported…

  • Minimum Wages and Job Search: What Do Employment Effects Really Measure

    August 2004

    In this study, Drs. Peter Arcidiacono and Thomas Ahn investigate claims of positive employment effects resulting from a minimum wage. The study first highlights the multitude of reasons why, under the classical economic model—the widely accepted model of economic behavior—an increase in the minimum wage cannot lead to an increase in employment. Then, by relaxing certain assumptions critical to the classical model, a search model…

  • Raising New York’s Minimum Wage: A Poor Way to Help the Working Poor

    July 2004

    State lawmakers in Albany are poised to vote on a staggering 38 percent increase in the state’s minimum wage. The increase to $7.10 an hour will not grant the majority of its benefits to poor New Yorkers, but it will deprive these individuals of necessary employment opportunities. This study, conducted by Drs. Richard Burkhauser and Joseph Sabia of Cornell University, finds the claims of lawmakers—that…

  • Why Raising the Minimum Wage is a Poor Way to Help the Working Poor

    July 2004

    Politicians from Democratic Presidential Candidate John Kerry to Senator Ted Kennedy are pushing to increase the minimum wage to $7.00 an hour. This 36 percent increase in the wage floor will only serve to decrease employment opportunities for entry-level employees—particularly the low-skill employees minimum wage hikes are intended to help. Supporters of these wage increases claim that this increase will help Americans in poverty. In…

  • Wage Growth Among Minimum Wage Workers

    June 2004

    Arguments in favor of increasing federal and state minimum wages often hinge on a belief that minimum wage employees are dependent on these government policies to receive a wage increase. Policymakers often believe that these employees receive raises only when the minimum wage is increased implying a notion that these individuals are unable to increase their skill level and corresponding wages without the government’s assistance.