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The Minimum Wage as a Tool for Racial Economic Justice

  • Andria Smythe
  • Linchi Hsu
Journal of Economic Literature
vol. 61, no. 3, September 2023
(pp. 977-87)
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Abstract

Participants at the 1963 civil rights march on Washington supported minimum wage laws using arguments of economic justice. Many economists at the time argued against the minimum wage based on efficiency concerns rooted in neoclassical theory. After decades of debate, where does the economics profession stand on the justice and efficiency claims of the minimum wage? We discuss the evolution of the minimum wage literature in economics, focusing on racial justice. We highlight recent empirical papers that overwhelmingly support the position of the marchers on Washington while at the same time showing little to no loss of economic efficiency.

Citation

Smythe, Andria, and Linchi Hsu. 2023. "The Minimum Wage as a Tool for Racial Economic Justice." Journal of Economic Literature, 61 (3): 977-87. DOI: 10.1257/jel.20221709

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • D63 Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
  • J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
  • J22 Time Allocation and Labor Supply
  • J31 Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
  • J38 Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs: Public Policy
  • K31 Labor Law