Even if the evidence on Seattle's minimum-wage hike is early and conflicting, please tell us how you're leaning. Stay for the links and haiku.
The final word on Seattle’s step up to a $15-per-hour minimum wage isn’t in, but two reports offer the first sizable assessments of the law.
One, from the University of California, Berkeley, said it had improved pay for workers and not affected jobs. The second, from the University of Washington, said the higher wage had led to a cut in hours and many workers were being hurt. Each had its flaws and detractors, as I discussed here.
Michael Hiltzik of the LA Times examined how much of a problem the UW study would be for supporters of a $15 wage elsewhere. The Washington Post’s Wonkblog called it bad news for liberals. The Angry Bear blog pushes back. I’m willing to wait and see. But where do you stand now?
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This Week’s Links:
• Yet another piece on jobs lost because employers don’t know how to raise wages | Beat the Press
• Teddy Roosevelt wouldn’t understand the EU antitrust fine against Google | The New Yorker
• When growth is not enough | Ben Bernanke
• A European economic miracle? | Simon Johnson
• Ten facts about smartphones as the iPhone turns 10 | Pew Research Center
• The prices of caffeine and education | FRED Blog
• Look east to find the next U.S. recession | Noah Smith
• Incomes, migration and housing affordability in Oregon | Josh Lehner
Today’s Econ Haiku:
Taking stock, first half
Market watchers are nervous
Fear, greed, random walk