There has been a lot of news and talk about the minimum wage as of late. The talk has come from government, the lower-wage workers of America and other people who happened to be interested in the subject for whatever reason. However, many people that are speaking on the subject seem too interested in spouting soundbites and are concurrently not focused enough on economics and realities as they exist. While it is true that the minimum wage has not budged all that much in the last generation or so, it is also true that it is not a fix-all and there… Continue Reading...
Introduction to Economics and Global Capitalism
The idea that minimum wage, even though it has risen, has not kept pace with real wages, according to the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (2013). The issue of course is one of inflation. So if Sen. Harkin wants to grow the middle class, which he calls the backbone of the economy, he should simply get on the Fed to stop printing trillions and increasing the money supply so that everyone’s dollars are devalued. No one’s wages are keeping track with the rate of inflation, and while raising minimum… Continue Reading...
lower opportunity cost compared to China. Another aspect that was influenced during the mining boom is the minimum wage. In the period, the minimum wage increased and in 2010 the policy set the price at $15. The marginal revenue product curves provides insight as to how much labor will be demanded at any particular wage or price. The increase in minimum wage gave rise to a decline in the number of employees that can be hired and therefore a decline in the labor force. In the event that the firms in the industry join forces into one particular firm for producing minerals, it is expected that there… Continue Reading...
efforts aimed at promoting equity and fairness in the labour market (Manning, 2010). For instance, the government may introduce legislation to curb minimum wage at a certain limit. The government may also introduce insurance benefits to improve the wellbeing of the unemployed. Additionally, workers may unionise to advocate for better pay and improved working conditions. While these efforts are intended to positively affect the labour market, they may often generate unemployment and other undesirable outcomes (Dwivedi, 2010). They may result in imperfections that may be detrimental to investment, economic activity, as well as efficient resource allocation, consequently obstructing employment growth.
Major labour market factors that generate unemployment relate to labour… Continue Reading...
stickiness. We know that wages are sticky because most Western countries have minimum wage laws. But further, "labour," is not a commodity class. Rather, it is a set of specialized markets, only a few of which can be genuinely viewed as commodities with little market friction. In specialized labour markets, there is naturally friction. Keynesians also accept the link between wages and prices. Prices are less sticky than wages because consumers generally have more choice, and fewer barriers to choice, but there is some price stickiness in most markets, and some of that is likely related to wage stickiness.
The Keynesian view… Continue Reading...
inequality that is occurring today revolves around increased housing costs and a minimum wage that is just standard. All over America, though particularly in metropolitan areas, housing costs continue to rise and in many places, the minimum wage isn’t also rising to meet it. Barbra Ehrenreich, author of the book Nickel and Dimed, documents this struggle to survive very acutely in her book. During her experiment, the money she makes on her shift is barely enough to live on: she’s earning $2.43 an hour plus tips. She rents out a cabin in the back of someone’s swampy backyard. She finds that many… Continue Reading...
to stabilize the country, the most notable is increased regulation, meaning pension-system expansions and a minimum wage (). Along with economic policies favoring regulation, Germany has remained strong in terms of employment growth and export performance, allowing for low unemployment rates and rising wages. While Germany has improved and stabilized, the rising influx of refugees has put a damper on the country's ability to create new policies for the labor-market.
Regardless, there are many positives in Germany's economic policies that has boosted tax revenue. The boost also comes in terms of reduction of debt-to-GDP ratio even with rising debt. Germany has done an amazing job… Continue Reading...
restrictions and inequalities limited ever important government program established during the Great Depression, from the New Deal job programs to Social Security to the minimum wage legislation of 1938. Social security excluded coverage for every category of employment in which African Americans made up a significant part of the U.S. workforce. (Tischauser 84-85)
Jim Crow laws gained ground during this time and many lynchings took place harking back to the red summer of 1919. Into the early twentieth century, lynchings continued to average two to three a week with marked increases during the Red Summer race riots of 1919 and during the Great Depression. (Kirchmeier 127)
Race played such a pivotal par in the… Continue Reading...
