Michael R. Strain, Columnist

The Case for a $15 Minimum Wage Is Far From Settled

Recent research shows different effects on employment, based on the policy specifics and economic context.

May 23, 2019 at 8:00 AM EDT

Michael R. Strain is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is director of economic policy studies and Arthur F. Burns Scholar in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute. He is the author of “The American Dream Is Not Dead: (But Populism Could Kill It).”

Fight for $15, and read the studies too.
Photographer: David McNew/Getty Images

Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal

LEARN MORE

This article is for subscribers only.

The view that minimum wages can rise significantly without inflicting harm on the job prospects of lesser-skilled workers has certainly taken root. The success of the “Fight for $15” movement has been particularly striking, with several cities, six states and the District of Columbia moving their minimum wage up to $15 an hour. Several Democratic presidential candidates explicitly support a $15 national minimum wage. A bill that would legislate this has more than 200 Democratic co-sponsors in the House of Representatives.

Economist Jeffrey Clemens argues, however, in a recent policy paper published by the Cato Institute, that a good deal of this support is predicated on an incomplete reading of the academic literature.

Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal

LEARN MORE