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Retrospectives: American Economists in the Progressive Era on the Minimum Wage

Author

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  • Robert E. Prasch

Abstract

Beginning in 1912, a number of states passed minimum wage legislation that applied exclusively to women and minors. These tentative experiments in economic legislation ended in 1923 when the Supreme Court overturned the District of Columbia's minimum wage law. Remarkably, at this time virtually all professional American economists supported some variety of minimum wage legislation; however, they did not all give the same reasons. This paper briefly examines the context in which this minimum wage legislation was passed and then surveys several of the arguments that American economists gave in support of minimum wage laws.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert E. Prasch, 1999. "Retrospectives: American Economists in the Progressive Era on the Minimum Wage," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 13(2), pages 221-230, Spring.
  • Handle: RePEc:aea:jecper:v:13:y:1999:i:2:p:221-230
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/jep.13.2.221
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    File URL: http://www.aeaweb.org/articles.php?doi=10.1257/jep.13.2.221
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    Cited by:

    1. Kanazawa, Mark Tooru, 2023. "The Efficiency of Occupational Licensing during the Gilded and Progressive Eras: Evidence from Judicial Review," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 83(4), pages 1221-1252, December.
    2. Luca Fiorito, 2012. "Between Progressivism and Institutionalism Albert Benedict Wolfe on Eugenics," Department of Economics University of Siena 644, Department of Economics, University of Siena.
    3. Ellen Mutari, 2004. "Brothers and Breadwinners: Legislating Living Wages in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 62(2), pages 129-148.
    4. Gautié, Jérôme, 2015. "D'un siècle à l'autre, salaire minimum, science économique et débat public aux États-Unis, en France et au Royaume-Uni (1890-2015)," CEPREMAP Working Papers (Docweb) 1518, CEPREMAP.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy
    • B29 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - Other

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