Mr. Jacoby is selective in marshaling the evidence against increasing the minimum wage (Minimum-Wage Folly, Boston Globe, July 8, 2009).
The best estimate from aggregating the results of over multiple studies of the effect in the US [provided by H. Doucouliagos and T. D. Stanley (British Journal of Industrial Relations, June 2009)] is that raising the minimum wage has no adverse impact on employment.
Furthermore the estimates that Jacoby cites of 300,000 lost jobs if the minimum wage is raised is equal to about half the average monthly job losses of the last six months.
Yes, such losses, if they were to occur, would be regrettable but, in the current context, they would not be the disaster that Jacoby is worried about.
Sent to Boston Globe
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