Reconciling the Evidence of Employment Effects of Minimum Wages : A Review of Our Research Findings

In this paper, we review the evidence that we have accumulated on the employment effects of minimum wages. We point out specific areas of agreement and disagreement between our research and that of others, and where possible, offer our reconciliation of the conflicting results. Our conclusion is that the revisionist view that minimum wages do not reduce employment is not compelling, and that much of the conflicting evidence can be reconciled with the competitive view of minimum wages and low-wage labor markets