Rowson Man
Student Id: 100524350
EC451 Research Methodology for Applied Economics
Final Paper
Is Minimum Wage a good idea?
Introduction / Thesis Statement:
Minimum wage is the lowest or minimum compensation for workers by their employers. As such, it has a noticeable impact on the economy through various channels including standard of living, business efficiency, wage and income inequality, etc. Although minimum wage has many positive effects such as increasing the standard of living as well as reducing inequality, there are also many drawbacks to having a minimum wage such as inflation and unemployment. This paper will attempt to determine the influence of having a regulated minimum wage has on the economy.
Supporting Evidence 1: Wage Inequality Minimum wage establishes the minimum cost of a worker as compensation for service or work performed. An increase in the minimum wage raises the relative price of less skilled labour, those who may be earning minimum wage and therefore directly affected by the increase. The increase in the price of less skilled labour may lead to a rise in the demand for more skilled labour (Stewart, 2012), those not directly affected by an increase in minimum wage resulting in spillover. Despite this, overall the minimum wage has grown faster than the median. (Stewart, 2012) This indicates that although an increase in the minimum wage directly increases those at the lower end, and indirectly those at the upper end, overall the disparity is
Right now,according to Victoria Smith,over 40 million people are living in poverty. This could be changed if they were able to get enough money from their jobs, but the minimum wage isn’t high enough right now. Even if only by a little, if minimum wage were raised, the amount of people living in poverty could be reduced by at least 5 million according to Mike Konczal . Originally, the minimum wage was at only .25 cents an hour. Due to causes such as inflation, this wage has been raised to meet the current standard. Although interest in raising the wage has gone away until recently. Minimum wage should be increased because it would increase job growth and economic activity,it would reduce government spending on welfare, and reduce poverty.
Doug Hall, director of the Economic Analysis and Research Network and David Cooper, Economic Analyst at the Economic Policy Institute, expressed how the increase in minimum wage affects certain genders, families, education backgrounds, ages, and the economy (Hall & Cooper, 2014). It is said that the increase mainly affects women with a compromising percentage of 54.5 (Hall & Cooper, 2014). It affects at least 20 year olds and mostly white workers. The increase in minimum wage also affects workers with a college degree or higher more than those with a high school diploma. It also affects low to moderate-income families and those who work full time. Hall and Cooper believe that the rise in minimum wage will not cause job losses, but create jobs. They also believe that the workers will spend their extra earnings and those who make close to but higher than the minimum wage will, “receive boost in earnings due to “spillover” effect, giving them more to spend on necessities” (Hall & Cooper, 2014). They believe this will help with economic growth.
Raising minimum wages is a contestable issue because it is debated in wide and varied audiences. Minimum wage is near the top of economists’ interest; they are looking for the connection between low wages and poor job markets. Each country sets its own laws and regulations regarding wages. For this reason, it has significant importance to policy makers and workers in each of those respective countries. Social activists have also found interest in the topic due to the fact that those who earn a minimum wage tend to come from poor minority families. Furthermore, the average American should have the strongest interest in the conversation because most citizens have been paid a minimum wage at some point in their life. Due to this fact, the idea of a significant federal minimum wage increase in America is open for debate specifically to rejuvenate the job industry, improve living conditions for citizens, and strengthen the economy as a whole.
Many case in USA suffering from the very low hourly payment according to Talk poverty: As wages go down, the percentage of workers relying on public assistance gets higher: 60 percent of workers earning less than $7.42—only slightly higher than the $7.25 federal minimum wage—receive some form of means-tested public assistance. Overall, 70 percent of the benefits in programs meant to aid non-elderly low-income households—programs like food stamps, Medicaid, and the Earned Income Tax Credits—go to working families.and it help some people get out of the food stamp Because the low minim wage many low income worker live with their children under a poverty.
This paper will explore the pros and cons of raising the current minimum wage to $15.00. It will start with the history and reasons for the minimum wage. It will cite the positive aspects for raising it, as well as the negative consequences of that action. It will then touch on actual cases presently, within the U.S. economy. Finally, I will present my conclusion.
Mike Durant once said, “Making it more expensive to create new jobs is a perfect way to guarantee fewer of them.” The recent, “Raise the Wage” campaigns have sparked an interest in many low-wage workers. However, those who support this initiative are unaware of the economic problems that will arise if this is successful. Several cities have already raised their minimum wages and some, like Seattle, are raising it as high as $15 per hour. Currently, supporters of this campaign argue that the government should implement this increase federally. However, doing so will have broad and adverse financial implications. Ever since the Great Depression, the minimum wage has been in effect — to reduce poverty and solidify that
Donald Trump, the favorite candidate for this years election, recently claimed that wages are too high in America. One may wonder if he was lost in some sort of day dream or maybe he was talking about his own wages? As someone who has never had to worry about money, considering his families wealthy background, how would he possibly know what its like to live barely get by living off the federal minimum wage? Consider someone who is able to work a full time job being paid minimum wage, after taxes are taken out of their paycheck they would be looking at approximately a $13,000 salary per year. $12,000 is the poverty line in America for an individual. This is the life of a working class citizen in America. Constantly struggling to pay the bills and having to worry about how they are going to feed their children every week. The numbers show that minimum wage is clearly not sufficient to sustain a normal way of life and a raise would not only benefit millions of americans lives but also boost the economy.
For over a decade, many Americans have struggled with the low wage issued from employers, despite working very long hours of work. According to a study done in Oregon State University, a federal minimum wage was first set in 1938, starting at 25 cents an hour. Due to inflation that has occurred many times throughout the century, the call for raising minimum wage is to be immediately answered. However, the minimum wage falls when congress does not raise the minimum wage to keep up with inflation. Because of this many cities and states have departed from the minimum wage. In this essay, to be discussed is the reason why imposing a minimum wage above the equilibrium wage will reduce employment and contribute to an increase in the unemployment rate.
Many people may believe that raising the minimum wage is a great idea. An employee making federal minimum wage is below the poverty level. But could it be that a decrease in, or not having a minimum wage at all, would be better for the economy?
Proponents of raising the minimum wage claim that if the minimum wage was raised, then many economic and social problems would be alleviated. This contention is at odds both with economic principles and years of creditable research. The effect of raising or even having a minimum wage has been studied extensively and the majority of studies have proven that raising a minimum wage does not have the desired effect. Both micro and macroeconomic forces affect the results of raising the minimum wage. The secondary effects of raising the minimum wage are bad both for
Is minimum wage enough to live on? Most people would assume that the minimum wage would be the minimum amount people need to survive in today’s world, but that just is not the case. People are not able to survive on $7.50 an hour alone, but the price they are demanding would also impact fast food companies greatly. Noah Glass, founder and CEO of Olo and co-founder or Twitter, believes that he has the answer to the problem. His solution to the problem would benefit most of the fast food workers who are receiving minimum wage. Glass believes that implementing more technology into the fast food restaurant setting would not only help the company, but also result in increased pay for employees. Noah Glass uses his credibility, knowledge on the subject, and statistics to effectively convince fast food companies that introducing a digital ordering system will increase the efficiency of the company as well as provide their employees with an increased minimum wage.
I agree with this article, written by Niels Veldhuis, to the extent that minimum wage negatively affects the economy, by increasing unemployment. However, if I were Veldhuis I would have added that the social values of minimum wage may outweigh the negative effects on the economy. This matter is a value judgement, which cannot be proved right or wrong by economics. Veldhuis supports his statement with proof from studies; I will explain these findings with further microeconomic theory. I will discuss the following to reflect upon the accuracy of his arguments: theories of producer behavior and cost minimization, market equilibrium, welfare, and the importance of value judgements.
This paper argues that the proper time to adjust minimum wage is right now. To argue this, studies are done that show the target efficiency of the federal minimum wage is near its 25-year peak. These studies also show that the changes in target efficiency are directly related to the workers in poverty and not the non-poor workers. From this, the paper raises the idea that minimum wage increases the employment of low-skilled poor individuals relative to low-skilled non-poor individuals. It also asserts that the decline in teenage employment and general increase in poverty are not the strongest predictors of the target efficiency.
Opponents to minimum wage raise claim that the minimum wage costs jobs by pricing low-wage workers out of the labor market. However, when we review academic studies that examine the effects of minimum wage increases on
In the United States, minimum wage has remained at a low number for several years. Minimum wage is defined as the lowest possible income that an employer can legally pay an employee. This ensures that all people are fairly paid and not defrauded by companies or businesses. Minimum wage is considered a price floor and the minimum wage laws determine the lowest price possible that any employer must pay for labor. In an economic model, the quantity of supplied is greater than the quantity demanded and the minimum wage is above equilibrium price and quantity. Minimum wage prevents labor supplied and labor demanded from moving