Research

Governor Andrew Cuomo is eager to abolish New York’s tipped wage. So eager, in fact, that he’s willing to justify his agenda with false data analysis from the Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC). A new policy brief from the Employment Policies Institute outlines the problems with eliminating tip wages and explains…

What’s in a (Brand) Name? A Comparison Of Minimum Wage Effects on Franchise and Non-Franchise Businesses One unique feature of recent local minimum wage battles is the focus on franchise businesses. In Seattle, for instance, a minimum wage of…

The Effects of Minimum Wage Increases on Means-Tested Government Assistance One of the more popular contemporary arguments for raising the minimum wage is that it will save taxpayers money. Specifically, proponents of a higher minimum wage have argued that…

By Big Labor and For Big Labor…

Survey of US Economists on a $15 Federal Minimum Wage The University of New Hampshire Survey Center conducted a survey of economists for the Employment Policies Institute (EPI). The specific areas of interest are economists’ opinions on a $15 minimum…

Early Experiences with Chicago’s July 1st Minimum Wage Increase In December 2014, the Chicago City Council approved a law raising the city’s minimum wage by nearly 60 percent, to $13 an hour, by 2019. A press release from the office of Mayor Rahm…

Measuring the Cost of a Higher Minimum Wage for New York’s Fast Food Restaurants New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced in a New York Times op-ed this spring his intention to empanel a state wage…

Examining the Costs of the City of Oakland’s $12.25 Minimum Wage In November 2014, residents of the Bay Area cities of San Francisco and Oakland voted in favor of minimum wage increases for most businesses in the city limits. The San Francisco proposal will raise the city’s minimum wage…

This study from economist Aaron Yelowitz at the University of Kentucky suggests that, though San Francisco considers itself a unique outpost of progressive thought, the laws of economics still apply. A double-digit compensation floor that affects employees at businesses with single-digit profit margins is guaranteed to create unintended consequences, no matter the political climate in which it occurs.

EPI’s analysis of proposals to create a $9.80 minimum wage, based on Census Bureau data, finds that they would be poorly targeted to the low-income families they’re intended to help. This is consistent with a wide body of economic research finding that minimum wages are a poor way to reduce poverty, and also reduce employment opportunities among the least-skilled.