The Effects Of Minimum Wages On Employment, By Benjamin...

Across the United States, many low skilled workers struggle to remain above the poverty line due to their small hourly wages. Some groups advocate for increased wages, but others oppose that idea because of the possibility of widespread job losses. Even though researchers have heavily analyzed the effects of a living wage in the past few years, experts claim that different kinds of studies are biased to support one viewpoint over the other. The articles â€Å"Living Wage Ordinances and Wages, Poverty, and Unemployment in US Cities,† by Benjamin Sosnaud, and â€Å"The Effects of Minimum Wages on Employment,† by David Neumark, analyze different studies about the effects of increasing the minimum wage to a living wage on a national scale. Neumark focuses his analysis mainly on different reasons why certain researchers are more biased than others. Sosnaud, on the other hand, takes studies from various cities with and without living wages from across the United States so he can compare them and draw his own conclusions about the true effects of raised wages. Even though Neumark’s points out how certain studies can be biased and invalid, Sosnaud’s evaluation of the issue based on a wide variety of research makes it very credible and gives readers a much clearer picture of nation-wide side effects. David Neumark’s article heavily criticizes different studies about minimum wage effects. He starts off the article with a quick summary of common theories. Those against wage increases believe