The Short- and Long-Run Effects of Minimum Wages on the Distribution of Earnings. Appendices

摘要

Since the passage of the FLSA in 1938, there has been considerable controversy about the impact of minimum wage laws on the distribution of earnings and its components. Advocates claim that a minimum wage aids in the attainment of equalitarian social distribution goals by assuring a fair wage to those workers at the low end of the distribution and thus increasing their earnings. Critics claim that the effects are quite to the contrary: there is increased unemployment among low skilled workers and there are no benefits for disabled and other non-labor market participants. These debates concentrate on earnings and do not place a value on leisure time. The paper discusses income distribution and minimum wages and provides supporting data for the conclusions of the study.