The minimum wage has its greatest impact on the market for teenage labor.
The equilibrium wages of teenagers are low because teenagers are among the
least skilled and least experienced members of the labor force. In addition,
teenagers are often willing to accept a lower wage in exchange for on-the-job
training. (Some teenagers are willing to work as “interns” for no pay at all. Because
internships pay nothing, however, the minimum wage does not apply to
them. If it did, these jobs might not exist.) As a result, the minimum wage is
more often binding for teenagers than for other members of the labor force.
Many economists have studied how minimum-wage laws affect the teenage
labor market. These researchers compare the changes in the minimum wage over
time with the changes in teenage employment. Although there is some debate
about how much the minimum wage affects employment, the typical study finds
that a 10 percent increase in the minimum wage depresses teenage employment
between 1 and 3 percent. In interpreting this estimate, note that a 10 percent increase
in the minimum wage does not raise the average wage of teenagers by 10
percent. A change in the law does not directly affect those teenagers who are already
paid well above the minimum, and enforcement of minimum-wage laws is
not perfect. Thus, the estimated drop in employment of 1 to 3 percent is significant.
In addition to altering the quantity of labor demanded, the minimum wage
also alters the quantity supplied. Because the minimum wage raises the wage
that teenagers can earn, it increases the number of teenagers who choose to look
for jobs. Studies have found that a higher minimum wage influences which
teenagers are employed. When the minimum wage rises, some teenagers who
are still attending school choose to drop out and take jobs. These new dropouts
displace other teenagers who had already dropped out of school and who now
become unemployed.
The minimum wage is a frequent topic of political debate. Advocates of the
minimum wage view the policy as one way to raise the income of the working
poor. They correctly point out that workers who earn the minimum wage can
afford only a meager standard of living. In 1999, for instance, when the minimum
wage was $5.15 per hour, two adults working 40 hours a week for every
week of the year at minimum-wage jobs had a total annual income of only
$21,424, which was less than half of the median family income. Many advocates
of the minimum wage admit that it has some adverse effects, including unemployment,
but they believe that these effects are small and that, all things considered,
a higher minimum wage makes the poor better off.
Opponents of the minimum wage contend that it is not the best way to
combat poverty. They note that a high minimum wage causes unemployment,
encourages teenagers to drop out of school, and prevents some unskilled workers
from getting the on-the-job training they need. Moreover, opponents of the
minimum wage point out that the minimum wage is a poorly targeted policy.
Not all minimum-wage workers are heads of households trying to help their
families escape poverty. In fact, fewer than a third of minimum-wage earners
are in families with incomes below the poverty line. Many are teenagers from
middle-class homes working at part-time jobs for extra spending money.
EVALUATING PRICE CONTROLS
One of the Ten Principles of Economics discussed in Chapter 1 is that markets are
usually a good way to organize economic activity. This principle explains why