Introduction

Traditional economists have tended to relegate the discussion of the minimum wage to the following oversimplification: an increase in the minimum wage will lead to teenage unemployment by reducing the number of jobs available rather than help alleviate poverty for the working poor. To further narrow it down: where does the key to understanding lie: micro effects or macro effects? Despite the reductionist nature of this approach, it has generated tens of thousands of data-twisting investigations seeking to garner the empirical “truth” of one of the above positions. The results are often confusing, contradictory and inconsistent thanks to the bewilderment that surrounds definition and measurement. Thus, given the complex role the minimum wage plays in the economy, policy solutions are not all that obvious, given the fact that econometric investigations rely on theoretical constructs that do not reflect reality in all of its complexity.

This issue of the Forum attempts to bring some of the more nuanced issues surrounding the minimum wage to light. The tone of the conversation is outwardly expanded by Peter Gardella’s discussion of religions and the living wage. He conceives of setting wages as a social practice that would provide adequate income for workers. The author weaves together an historic account of economic theory and policy with the Judeo-Christian ethic as set forth by the Hebrew Scriptures, pontifical doctrine and such great American thinkers as John A Ryan and Richard T Ely. Contributions by Sen, Nussbaum and the social justice movement among intellectuals and activists are noted to have revived interest and passion for the living wage movement.

Oren Levin-Waldman argues that the dichotomous view of economists obsessed with measuring teenage employment or poverty relief misses the point of the role that labor-management relations have played in failing to turn second-class workers into first-class workers. Such efforts of management would have yielded a society of highly productive and efficient workers by investing in human capital, but management has missed that opportunity. This brings us to the question, what kind of society do we want to be? Society does not frame its hopes and dreams for the good life in terms of micro effects or macro effects. For those interested in the role management has played in changing the DNA of the US work force, this will provide an interesting read.

Veronika Dolar offers original research findings about the standard methods in which textbooks and classroom discussions regarding the minimum wage are presented. She furthers the case that thinking outside the framework of the orthodox explanation is necessary to bring critical understanding of the complexity of this topic to our students in the classroom.

Liam Molloy pays homage to the decline of workers’ bargaining power, which has left workers largely powerless to negotiate on their own individual behalf and subject to coercion by employers. He hypothesizes that changes in the minimum wage apparently redistribute income share to or away from the top one percent of income earners. In this “Technical Report”, the redistributive effects of changes in the minimum wage are investigated using the econometric toolbox.

Offered as well is a piece by Stefan Mann that utilizes a relatively new theoretical framework with an important and topical application of that structure to the assessment of minimum wage legislation. The model implies that other strategic initiatives for redistribution purposes may be necessary to accomplish policy goals.

We also include a multiple book review that includes two compilations of orthodox research on the minimum wage as well as a recently published reference handbook that parses the many complex historical, institutional, and value-laden issues surrounding the minimum wage.

This special issue of the Forum runs the gamut from the technical, the conventional, the pedagogical to the sublime. It endeavors to present complexity economics at its most interesting and diverse. I hope our readers find something in this special issue to enlighten their quest to re-imagine the minimum wage.

Cecilia Winters
Special Issue Editor

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.