Emily Skarbek

How to get your progressive friends to understand the minimum wage

December 16, 2016

Basic Economics

When I teach the Principles of Economics, I often note the relationship between positive analysis and normative judgments. One of my favorite ways to teach this is when we cover the minimum wage. Using Thomas Leonard's article Eugenics and Economics in the Progressive Era, I explain how both proponents and opponents of the minimum wage agreed on the effects - that binding price controls would cause job losses and unemployment. There was no disagreement on the fundamental economic analysis. The difference of opinion between advocates and opponents of minimum wages was their normative assessment