What harm do minimum wages do?
Three decades of research have led to a rethink
FOR A LONG TIME economists—whose median income, according to a survey of the American Economic Association (AEA), is $104,000 a year—considered minimum wages to be harmful. A survey of AEA members in 1992 found that 79% of respondents agreed that a minimum wage increases unemployment among young and low-skilled workers. In an often fractious field, that is about as close to a consensus view as can be found. Although many economists recognised that low pay can indeed be a real problem, they argued that no pay was worse.
This article appeared in the Schools brief section of the print edition under the headline “What harm do minimum wages do?”
From the August 15th 2020 edition
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