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The Minimum Wage in Historical Perspective: Progressive Reformers and the Constitutional Jurisprudence of 'Liberty of Contract

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  • Oren M. Levin-Waldman

Abstract

During the Progressive period of American history the debate over the minimum wage was often between those who clung to traditional economic theory as a reason for not having a minimum wage and those who saw the efficiency-wage benefits of adopting one. Although the latter argument proved quite effective in swaying many state legislatures, it may have also been a strategic argument for circumventing the Supreme Court's particular understanding of "liberty of contract." Under this doctrine, states could not pass any legislation mandating a minimum wage unless a compelling case could be made that such a wage would definitely serve the larger public interest. This paper argues that although efficiency-wage arguments might have been appealing to liberal reformers of that time, the arguments were ultimately used as a disingenuous means by which "liberty of contract" arguments could be circumvented.

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  • Oren M. Levin-Waldman, 1998. "The Minimum Wage in Historical Perspective: Progressive Reformers and the Constitutional Jurisprudence of 'Liberty of Contract," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_256, Levy Economics Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:lev:wrkpap:wp_256
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    1. Sidney Webb, 1912. "The Economic Theory of a Legal Minimum Wage," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 20, pages 973-973.
    2. Prasch, Robert E., 1998. "American Economists and Minimum Wage Legislation During the Progressive Era: 1912–1923," Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(2), pages 161-175, June.
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