, Columnist
Early Returns From Seattle's Minimum-Wage Experiment
The lowest earners took home a tiny bit more ... if they kept their jobs. But some didn't.
A little more cash sounds nice. No cash sounds not so great.
Photographer: FEDERICO PARRA/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
The minimum wage arouses fierce passions among many people, and even fiercer confidence. Both sides in the minimum wage debate are completely sure that all the evidence is on their side and that the studies proffered by the other side have been “debunked.” If only one side or another had been debunked. But the quality of empirical evidence available is simply not that high.
Many fine economists have done a fine job investigating the question. But as I’ve written before, it is simply very hard to get the kind of data necessary to conclusively assess how raising the minimum wage affects an economy.