Quite dissatisfied with Becker's take on minimum wage. He cites France in his example. France is in the pits not simply because of minimum wage but also because of other factors. There is a sluggish economy, messed up immigration policy. There is not much assimilation of the migrants into the society. As far the minimum wage is concerned, what needs to be looked into is the skill and education gap which is causing the problem... that someone who is earning minimum wage today cannot progress out of it. Earlier one did not work in Mcdonalds to run a family. Rather they worked to get a temporary pocket money. So a low min wage was adequate --- now we need to look at the root cause - not the symptom. Raising min wage is not the issue. Temporarily I think they should but in the long run a more detailed and deeper solution to alleviate income disparities and growth to create more opportunities need to be resolved.
http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/2013/12/minimum-wages-employment-and-inequality-becker.html
http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/2013/12/minimum-wages-employment-and-inequality-becker.html
