The mainstay of the argument against imposing a statutory minimum wage in
Britain is that it will price low-paid workers out of the market. A large nail
is hammered into the coffin of that theory by David Card and Alan B. Krueger’s
Myth and Measurement: The New Economics of the Minimum Wage (Princeton
University Press, £25/$29.95, ISBN 0 691 04390 6). Their
microscopic analysis of the economic after-effects of raising statutory minimum
wage levels in various US states provides convincing proof that unemployment is
not linked to wage levels.
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Environment
Evocative photos of Canadian Arctic win New Scientist Editors Award
Regulars
Environment
June heatwave may have killed around 20,000 people in Europe
News
Physics
Random wobbles in time could finally solve gravity’s greatest mystery
News
Life
Synthetic biology may finally be ready to solve life's biggest mystery
Leader
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles
1
A type of fibre that stimulates GLP-1 release approved for use in food
2
Humans sleep the least of all apes – is it the secret to our success?
3
The 4 must-watch science-fiction films of the year so far
4
The world's fastest spider tops 3.5 metres per second
5
The weirdness of neutrinos could completely rewrite particle physics
6
Random wobbles in time could finally solve gravity’s greatest mystery
7
June heatwave may have killed around 20,000 people in Europe
8
Synthetic biology may finally be ready to solve life's biggest mystery
9
The best new popular science books of July 2026
10
We’ve uncovered a master gene that switches on human development
