When I discuss minimum wages in class I tell my students that one of the best ways to get a high-paying job is to get a low-paying job and work your way up. The minimum wage can put the least employable out of work and have permanent negative effects when training and work skills not acquired in youth are difficult to accumulate later on....Read the whole thing. It includes useful links, including a link to a recent study to corroborates Tabarrok's thesis.
The bottom line? If you don't work at McDonald's when you are a teenager, don't expect to manage a McDonald's when you are middle-aged.
Monday, September 13, 2004
Why the Minimum Wage Hurts People
Alex Tabarrok at Marginal Revolution has it figured out:
