Minimum Wage Issue Guide
updated July 21, 2009
Download entire Issue Guide in PDF format
Key EPI publications
A stealthy stimulus: How boosting the minimum wage is helping to support the economy
by Kai Filion, May 2009
What a new federal minimum wage means for the states
by Liana Fox, June 2007
Minimum wage: Still waiting on a raise
by Liana Fox, April 2007
Tax credits or minimum wages? We need both
by Jared Bernstein and Elaine Maag, March 2007
A fish is not a fowl: Tax credits and the minimum wage
by Max B. Sawicky, February 2007
Minimum wage, maximum pork: The breaks could just as easily benefit owners not affected by the wage increase
by Max B. Sawicky, February 2007
Minimum wage increasingly lags poverty line
by Liana Fox, January 2007
Like a fish needs a bicycle: Does a minimum wage increase require new business tax cuts?
by Max B. Sawicky, January 2007
Keep it clean: There’s no good reason to lard the coming minimum wage bill with extraneous new tax cuts
by Jared Bernstein and Lawrence Mishel, January 2007
Tax incentives for businesses in response to a minimum wage increase
by Jared Bernstein, January 2007
Raising the minimum wage to $7.25 is an important first step
by Jared Bernstein and Ross Eisenbrey, December 2006
State minimum wages: A policy that works
by Paul Wolfson, November 2006
Minimum wage trends: Understanding past and contemporary research
by Liana Fox, October 2006
State minimum wages on the ballot
by Liana Fox, October 2006
Securing the wage floor: Indexing would maintain the minimum wage’s value and provide predictability to employers
by Michael Ettlinger, October 2006
Hundreds of economists say: Raise the minimum wage
Economists’ Statement, October 2006
Nine years of neglect: Federal minimum wage remains unchanged for ninth straight year, falls to lowest level in more than half a century
by Jared Bernstein (EPI) and Isaac Shapiro (CBPP), August 2006
House-passed minimum wage bill cuts wages for tipped employees in seven states by as much as $5.50 per hour
by Ross Eisenbrey, August 2006
Federal inaction forces states to raise minimum wages
by Mary C. Gable, July 2006
Buying power of minimum wage at 51-year low: Congress could break record for longest period without an increase
by Jared Bernstein (EPI) and Isaac Shapiro (CBPP), June 2006
If you work, then you shouldn’t be poor
by Jeff Chapman, March 2006
Inequality widens as real value of minimum wage falls
by Liana Fox, February 2006
Indexing the minimum wage for inflation
by Liana Fox, December 2005
Unhappy anniversary: Federal minimum wage remains unchanged for eighth straight year, falls to 56-year low relative to the average wage
by Jared Bernstein (EPI) and Isaac Shapiro (CBPP), September 2005
Job slayers or fact slayers? The Wall Street Journal‘s flawed argument against raising the minimum wage
by Jeff Chapman, September 2005
Comparing the minimum wage proposals
by Jeff Chapman, March 2005
The who and why of the minimum wage: Raising the wage floor is an essential part of a strategy to support working families
by Jeff Chapman and Michael Ettlinger, August 2004
Higher minimum wage most helps low-earning households
by Jeff Chapman, July 2004
No longer getting by: An increase in the minimum wage is long overdue
by Amy Chasanov, May 2004
Employment and the minimum wage: Evidence from recent state labor market trends
by Jeff Chapman, May 2004
Minimum wage and its effect on small business (Congressional testimony)
by Jared Bernstein, April 2004
States move on minimum wage: Federal inaction forces states to raise wage floor to protect low-wage workers
by Jeff Chapman, June 2003
Time to repair the wage floor: Raising the minimum wage to $6.65 will prevent further erosion of its value
by Jared Bernstein and Jeff Chapman, May 2002
Divided we fall: Deserving workers slip through America ‘s patchwork unemployment insurance system
by Jeffrey Wenger, August 2001
Step up, not out: The case for raising the federal minimum wage for workers in every state
by Edith Rasell, Jared Bernstein, and Heather Boushey, February 2001
Pay workers a living wage
by Jared Bernstein, August 2001
The impact of the minimum wage: Policy lifts wages, maintains floor for low-wage labor market
by Jared Bernstein and John Schmitt, June 2000
The next step: The new minimum wage proposal and the old opposition
by Jared Bernstein and Chauna Brocht, March 2000
Unbalanced Acts: A comparison of the proposed minimum wage and tax bills
by Jared Bernstein, Robert S. McIntyre, and Lawrence Mishel, March 2000
The minimum wage increase — A working woman’s issue
by Jared Bernstein, Heidi Hartmann, and John Schmitt, September 1999
Making work pay: the impact of the 1996-97 minimum wage increase
by Jared Bernstein and John Schmitt, 1998
Minimum wages and poverty (Congressional testimony)
by Jared Bernstein, April 1999
Memo to Greenspan: The facts support a minimum wage raise
by Jared Bernstein, May 1999
Another modest minimum wage increase
by Jared Bernstein, February 1998
Out of date on the minimum wage
by John Schmitt and Jared Bernstein, June 1996
Other minimum wage resources
U.S. Department of Labor information on the federal minimum wage
Includes information about the 1996-97 minimum wage increase and the history of the minimum wage.
Minimum wage laws in the states
Prepared by the U.S. Department of Labor. Information on state minimum wage levels that are higher than the federal minimum wage.
AFL-CIO minimum wage resource page
Coalition for Human Needs minimum wage resource page
Includes information on current and recent minimum wage legislation.
Raise the floor: Wages and policies that work for all of us
By Sklar, Mykyta, and Wefald. Ms. Foundation for Women. 2001.
Do some workers have minimum wage careers?
by Carrington and Fallick. Monthly Labor Review.
A hand up for the bottom third: Toward a new agenda for low-income working families
by Isabel Sawhill and Adam Thomas, The Brookings Institution.
Oregon’s increasing minimum wage brings raises to former welfare recipients and other low-wage workers without job losses
From the Oregon Center for Public Policy Web site.
The effects of the recent minimum wage increases on the restaurant industry
From the Oregon Center for Public Policy Web site.
How women can earn a living wage: The effects of pay equity remedies and a higher minimum wage
by Figart and Lapidus. Institute for Women’s Policy Research. 1997.
The minimum wage can be raised: Lessons from the 1999 Levy Institute survey of small business
From the Levy Institute web site.
Out of reach
From the National Low Income Housing Coalition Web site. This report calculates the number of hours minimum wage workers would have to work in order to rent affordable housing in the county where they live.
Reports on minimum wage increase in California
From the California Budget Project Web site.
