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The Elusive Effects of Minimum Wages

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  • John Kennan

Abstract

The main theme of David Card and Alan Krueger's book, "Myth and Measurement: The New Economics of the Minimum Wage", is that the data do not support the view that minimum wages reduce employment. The most important chapter considers data for the fast food industry, where it is suggested that recent minimum wage increases may actually have increased employment, contrary to the standard theorem that labor demand curves slope down. A more reasonable view of the evidence, in this book and in many other studies going back to 1915, is that the employment effects of minimum wages are small, and difficult to detect in the noisy data available.

Suggested Citation

  • John Kennan, 1995. "The Elusive Effects of Minimum Wages," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 33(4), pages 1950-1965, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:jeclit:v:33:y:1995:i:4:p:1950-1965
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    JEL classification:

    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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