—–Original Message—–
From: DC
Sent: Saturday, December 03, 2016 2:34 PM
To: Walter Block
Subject: Questions regarding globalized free market & minimum wage and its effects on the third world and developing nations innovation and entrepreneurship
Dr Block, Recently I have been in some pretty in depth debates with my very liberal brother, who happens to be highly educated and extremely smart. I do respect his opinions, although we disagree very often on social and economic policy. We had a few key questions that we couldn’t fully settle on and I was hoping to get an Austrian Theorist’s opinion on them.
#1 Minimum wage – I think I won this battle. Often times the left will come at me with Scandinavian countries and Germany in regards to looking at economic and social policies that work well. I tried to use these to my favor during the debate, due to the fact that they don’t have a minimum wage. I wanted to prove, by comparing the homogenous nations of Europe with and without minimum wage, that removing a minimum wage would be a benefit rather than hinder the economy. This was a tough sell, but ultimately I think I took the victory, because who can argue that Germany isn’t the most successful EU economy? So, I am curious what your argument would be to defend minimum wage, I’m sure you would take a slightly different view that doesn’t necessarily include analyzing social leaning countries?
#2 Globalized free market trade – This is where things got really iffy. I am trying to be a supporter of little to no government regulation in corporations, but then my brother opened the doors of ‘Child labor, sweat shops, and slavery’. Now, I started off by trying to argue that if corporations did follow these heinous practices that consumer opinion would ultimately push these corporations out of the market. But, through research, that actually isn’t really true. Companies such as NIKE and other shoe and clothing makers still have sweat shops to this day. So public opinion may work, especially on a micro level, but do they really make effective global change? Does john, dick, and harry really care what’s happening to the Vietnamese or Cambodian sweat shops or child labor laws? I want to be a believer in the global free market but I can see how without any government intervention, atrocities have, and still do, happen. Is there no place for government in regards to this?
Ultimately, we were able to agree that we would remove minimum wage laws if #1 unions are allowed to exist freely, and #2 there would be laws to ensure child labor doesn’t exist.
#3 Globalization is great for GDP, the corporations, and the developing nations that receive the outsourcing jobs (call centers, etc). I started to think that, although these policies are indeed great for the super powers, are they really great for the developing nations? First of all, I think there is a lot of corruption between foreign governments and western corporations that allows a lot of opportunity for workers to be taken advantage of. For example, in the Philippines I feel that the laissez faire free market is being abused by western corporations by only hiring bachelor degree employees, and having policies to fire (clean house) every 5 months in their call centers. I believe this creates a manipulated surplus of labor which maintains lower labor prices, allows corporations to avoid benefits, and other such things.
#4 Also, I wonder if globalization hinders innovation and creation by basically creating a brain drain to remedial positions in western corporations in the third world? The Philippines is now known as a call center capitol of the world, rather than entrepreneurs, inventors, masters of science, etc. I agree it’s great that these jobs are created and the Philippines GDP increased accordingly. But, are they missing out on even more growth and potential by allowing their educated to be sucked in by the corporations?
I would love to have your thoughts on these issues I believe exist with the free market. Thanks! DC
Dear DC: Please excuse me pawning you off with a bibliography, instead of responding in depth to your four very important questions. To do so would take a lot of time on my part. Not that I’m lazy. It is just that I’ve already published articles responding to just those questions, about which you may not be acquainted, and/or, know of the publications of other Austro-libertarian professors that answer them very adequately. Why reinvent the wheel in this regard, say I? Note, that even commie Krugman is sound on sweatshops!!!!
Let me now address the issues that you raise.
1.Minimum wage. I’m delighted you’ve convinced your ignorant (not stupid, just ignorant) brother of the error of his ways on this matter. However, in case you need more intellectual ammunition, here’s a bit.
on the minimum wage, video:
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2013/09/what-will-become-automated-now.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29
Williams, Walter. War on Poverty. http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2016/09/we-were-winning-war-on-poverty.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29
Baum, 2015; Becker, 1995; Block, 1987, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2014, 2015; Block and Barnett, 2002; Boudreaux, 2015A, 2015B, 2015C, 2016A, 2016B, 2016C, 2016D, 2016E, undated; Burkhauser, Couch, Wittenburg, 1996; Caplan, 2013A, 2013B, 2015; Cappelli and Block, 2012; Clemens, 2015; Cooper, 2016; Cordato, 2016; Deere, Murphy and Welch, 1995; European, undated; Friedman, undated; Gallaway and Adie, 1995; Galles, 2014; Gitis, 2014; Hanke, 2014A, 2014B; Hazlitt, 1946; Howland, 2013; Klein and Dompe, 2007; Landsburg, 2004; Lingenfelter, Dominguez, Garcia, Mayon and Block. 2017; McCaffrey, 2014; McCloskey, 2016; McCormick and Block, 2000; McMaken, 2016; Mercer, 2015; Murphy, 2014, 2015A, 2015B; Neumark and Wascher, 1992, 1995; Newman, 2016; North, 2014, 2016; Perry, 2016A, 2016B; Powell, 2013; Reisman, 2014, 2016; Rothbard, 1988, 2015A, 2015B; Rustici, 1985; Salihu, 2013; Saltsman, 2015; Schiff, undated; Sohr and Block, 1997; Sowell, 1995, 2000, 2013; Thornton, 2016; Tucker, 2915; Vedder and Gallaway. 2001; Vuk, 2006; Wenzel, 2013, 2015, 2016; Wiegold, 2014; Williams, 1982, 2013, 2014A, 2014B, 2014C, 2015A, 2015B, 2016, undated.
Baum, Caroline. 2015. “Caroline Baum Slams Paul Krugman (on minimum wage)” July 28;
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2015/07/caroline-baum-slams-paul-krugman.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29
Becker, Gary. 1995. “It’s simple: Hike the minimum wage, and you put people out of work.”
Business Week. March 6. p. 22; http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/1995-03-05/its-simple-hike-the-minimum-wage-and-you-put-people-out-of-work
Block, Walter. 1987. “Minimum Wage Law No Help to Unskilled,” Dateline Canada: Understanding Economics Through Press Reports, p. 37.
Block, Walter. 2000. “Heritage Stumbles on Minimum Wage,” The Free Market, October, Volume 18, Number 10; http://www.mises.org/freemarket_detail.asp?control=324
Block, Walter. 2001. “The Minimum Wage: A Reply to Card and Krueger,” Journal of The Tennessee Economics Association, Spring; http://www.mtsu.edu/~ceconed/100minwg.pdf
http://www.mtsu.edu/~ceconed/journal00.htm
Block, Walter. 2002. “Delusions of rising wages,” New Orleans City Business, January, 28, p. 28.
Block, Walter E. 2015. “Abolish the minimum wage law.” September 6;
https://www.lewrockwell.com/?post_type=article&p=561442&preview=true; https://www.lewrockwell.com/2015/09/walter-e-block/abolish-the-minimum-wage/
Block, Walter and William Barnett II. 2002. “The Living Wage: What’s Wrong,” The Freeman Ideas on Liberty, December, Vol. 52, No. 12, pp. 23-24
Block, Walter. 2014. “The Minimum Wage Law.” January 17;
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2014/01/walter-e-block/want-to-stab-the-poor-and-help-labor-unions/; http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2014/01/the-hardcore-austrian-school-and.html; http://lockerroom.johnlocke.org/2014/01/17/walter-block-versus-economists-who-want-to-raise-the-minimum-wage/; http://libertycrier.com/want-to-stab-the-poor-and-help-labor-unions/?utm_source=The+Liberty+Crier&utm_campaign=2b836d4a7b-The_Liberty_Crier_Daily_News_1_17_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_600843dec4-2b836d4a7b-284768769
Boudreaux, Don. 2015A. “Dartmouth Remarks On the Minimum Wage.” November 17;
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2015/11/dartmouth-remarks-on-minimum-wage.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29
Boudreaux, Don. 2015B. “Noah Smith is no Adam Smith.” November 24;
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2015/11/noah-smith-is-no-adam-smith.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29
Boudreaux, Don. 2015C. “Data on the battle: The Minimum Wage vs Automation.” December 18; http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2015/12/data-on-battle-minimum-wage-vs.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29
Boudreaux, Don. 2015D. “Setting the record straight: Automation Caused by Minimum Wage Laws and Otherwise.” December 19; http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2015/12/setting-record-straight-automation.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29
Boudreaux, Don. 2016A. “On Further Handicapping the Least Productive.” June 3; http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2016/06/on-further-handicapping-least-productive.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29
Boudreaux, Don. 2016B. “A Pro Minimum-Wage Professor Believes in Miracles.” June 14; http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2016/06/a-pro-minimum-wage-professor-believes.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29
Boudreaux, Don. 2016C. “What the World Looks Like to Someone Who Doesn’t Understand Economics.” June 24; http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2016/06/what-world-looks-like-to-someone-who.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29
Boudreaux, Don. 2016D. “The Inconsistency of People Who Support Higher Tariffs and Who Also Support Higher Minimum Wages.” August 4; http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2016/08/the-inconsistency-of-people-who-support.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29
Boudreaux, Don. 2016E. “Why the Minimum Wage is Disgraceful.” August 11; http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2016/08/why-minimum-wage-is-disgraceful.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29
Boudreaux, Don. Undated.
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2016/06/the-truth-unseen-consequences-of.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29
Burkhauser, Richard V., Couch, Kenneth A., Wittenburg, David. 1996. “Who Gets What From Minimum Wage Hikes: A Replication and Re-estimation of Card and Krueger.” Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 49, no. 3, April, pp. 547-552.
Caplan, Bryan. 2013A. “Phase-In: A Demagogic Theory of the Minimum Wage.” December 5;
http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2013/12/phase_in_a_psyc.html
Caplan, Bryan. 2013B. “The Myopic Empiricism of the Minimum Wage.” March 12;
http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2013/03/the_vice_of_sel.html
Caplan, Bryan. 2015. “Identificationists Beware.” June 10; http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2015/06/identificationi.html
Cappelli, Peter and Walter E. Block. 2012. “Debate over the minimum wage law.” Economics, Management, and Financial Markets, 7(4), December, pp. 11-33; http://addletonacademicpublishers.com/abstracts/economics-management-and-financial-markets/volume-7-4-2012/debate-over-the-minimum-wage-law.html
Clemens, Jeffrey. 2015. “The minimum wage and the great recession: evidence from the current population survey.” Working Paper 21830. http://papers.nber.org/tmp/57592-w21830.pdf
Cooper, Preston. 2016. “Hiking the Minimum Wage Killed Almost as Many Low-End Jobs as Did the Economic Collapse.” January 9; http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2016/01/hiking-minimum-wage-killed-almost-as.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29
Cordato, Roy. 2016. “The Minimum Wage: Taking Away the Right to Work.” August 10;
https://mises.org/blog/minimum-wage-taking-away-right-work
Deere, Donald, Murphy, Kevin M., Welch, Finis. 1995. “Employment and the 1990-91 Minimum-Wage Hike.” American Economic Review. 85, no. 2, May, pp. 232-237.
European countries:
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2015/04/minimum-wage-and-youth-unemployment.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29
Friedman, Milton. Undated. “A minimum-wage law is, in reality, a law that makes it illegal for an employer to hire a person with limited skills.” http://izquotes.com/quote/306121; http://books.google.com/books?id=ck6bXqt5shkC&pg=PA292&lpg=PA292&dq=Playboy+Milton+Friedman:+%E2%80%9CA+minimum-wage+law+is,+in+reality,+a+law+that+makes+it+illegal+for+an+employer+to+hire+a+person+with+limited+skills.%E2%80%9D&source=bl&ots=oBhaVzo4_o&sig=tPYbXajMPWQADdFdRvvbUvPXsbs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=QoU4U-fSIKeisQTIyoGQBQ&ved=0CDwQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=Playboy%20Milton%20Friedman%3A%20%E2%80%9CA%20minimum-wage%20law%20is%2C%20in%20reality%2C%20a%20law%20that%20makes%20it%20illegal%20for%20an%20employer%20to%20hire%20a%20person%20with%20limited%20skills.%E2%80%9D&f=false
Gallaway, Lowell and Douglas Adie. 1995. Review of Card and Krueger’s Myth and
Measurement: The New Economics of the Minimum Wage, Cato Journal, Volume 15, no.1
http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj15n1-8.html
Galles, Gary. 2014. “Cognitive Dissonance on Minimum Wages and Maximum Rents.” April 15; https://mises.org/library/cognitive-dissonance-minimum-wages-and-maximum-rents
Gitis, Ben. 2014. “How Minimum Wage Increased Unemployment and Reduced Job Creation in 2013” March 30; http://americanactionforum.org/research/how-minimum-wage-increased-unemployment-and-reduced-job-creation-in-2013
Hanke, Steve H. 2014A. “Minimum Wage Laws Kill Jobs.” January 29;
http://www.cato.org/blog/minimum-wage-laws-kill-jobs
Hanke, Steve H. 2014B. “Let the Data Speak: The Truth Behind Minimum Wage Laws.” Globe Asia, April; http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/let-data-speak-truth-behind-minimum-wage-laws
Hazlitt, Henry. 2008 [1946]. Economics in One Lesson. Auburn, AL: Mises Institute;
http://mises.org/books/economics_in_one_lesson_hazlitt.pdf
Howland, David. 2013. “Increased Minimum Wage, Decreased Economic Prosperity.” November 16; http://mises.ca/posts/blog/increased-minimum-wage-decreased-economic-prosperity/
Klein, Daniel B. and Stewart Dompe. 2007. “Reasons for Supporting the Minimum Wage: Asking Signatories of the ‘Raise the Minimum Wage’ Statement,” Econ Journal Watch. Vol. 4, No. 1, January, pp. 125-167
Landsburg, Steven E. 2004. “The sin of wages; the real reason to oppose the minimum wage. Slate. July 9. http://slate.msn.com/id/2103486
Lingenfelter, Jonathan, Jose Dominguez, Leandra Garcia, Bryce Mayon and Walter E. Block. 2017. “Closing the Gap: Why Minimum Wage Laws Disproportionately Harm African-Americans.” Economics, Management, and Financial Markets; 12(1): 11–24; http://141.164.71.80/exchange/walterblock/Inbox/RE:%20Closing%20the%20Gap:%20Why%20Minimum%20Wage%20Laws%20Disproportionately%20Harm%20African-Americans.EML/1_multipart_xF8FF_2_1-Lingenfelter%20et%20al..pdf/C58EA28C-18C0-4a97-9AF2-036E93DDAFB3/1-Lingenfelter%20et%20al..pdf?attach=1; pw: AddletonAP2009
https://www.addletonacademicpublishers.com/743-economics-management-and-financial-markets/volume-12-1-2017/2737-closing-the-gap-why-minimum-wage-laws-disproportionately-harm-african-americans; the password is: AddletonAP2009. https://www.addletonacademicpublishers.com/743-economics-management-and-financial-markets/volume-12-1-2017/2737-closing-the-gap-why-minimum-wage-laws-disproportionately-harm-african-americans
McCaffrey, Matt. 2014. “IKEA’s ‘Minimum Wage.’” July 4;
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2014/07/ikeas-minimum-wage.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29
McCloskey, Deirdre Nansen. 2016. “The Secret History of the Minimum Wage; The eugenicists’ favorite economic regulation.” June 12; http://reason.com/archives/2016/06/12/the-secret-history-of-the-mini
McCormick, Paul and Walter E. Block. 2000. “The Minimum Wage: Does it Really Help Workers,” Southern Connecticut State University Business Journal, Vol. 15, No. 2, Fall-Spring, pp. 77-80.
McMaken, Ryan. 2016. “Four States Vote to Punish Low-Skilled Workers With Minimum Wage Hikes.” November 19; https://mises.org/blog/four-states-vote-punish-low-skilled-workers-minimum-wage-hikes
Mercer, Ilana. 2015. “Minimum Wage, Maximum Folly’ In The Ivy League.” May 10;
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2015/05/minimum-wage-maximum-folly-in-ivy-league.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29
Murphy, Robert P. 2014. “Economists debate the minimum wage.” February 3;
http://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/y2014/Murphyminimumwage.html
Murphy, Robert P. 2015A. “The Minimum Wage ‘Experiments.’” June 16; https://mises.ca/posts/blog/the-minimum-wage-experiments/
Murphy, Robert P. 2015A. “Robert Reich Shills for $15 Minimum Wage.” June 22;
https://mises.ca/posts/blog/robert-reich-shills-for-15-minimum-wage/
Neumark, David and Wascher, William. 1992. “Employment Effects of Minimum and Subminimum Wages: Panel Data on State Minimum Wage Laws.” Industrial and Labor Relations Review 46 (October), pp. 55-81.
Neumark, David and William Wascher. 1995. “Minimum wage effects on employment and school enrollment.” Journal of Business Economics and Statistics. Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 199-207.
Newman, Jonathan. 2016. California Weighs a $15 Per Hour Minimum Wage.” March 28; https://mises.org/blog/california-weighs-15-hour-minimum-wage
North, Gary. 2014. “How Minimum Wage Laws Promote Racial Discrimination.” July 19; https://www.lewrockwell.com/2014/07/gary-north/want-young-black-males-to-get-jobs/
North, Gary. 2016. “Labor Unions and the Minimum Wage: ‘We Got Ours — Screw You.’” May 2; https://www.lewrockwell.com/2016/05/gary-north/got-screw/
Perry, Mark. 2016A. “What a $15 an Hour Minimum Wage Law Can and Cannot Do.” May 22; http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2016/05/what-15-hour-minimum-wage-law-can-and.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29
Perry, Mark. 2016B. “Black Unemployment Matters.” July 14;
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2016/07/black-unemployment-matters.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29
Powell, Benjamin. 2013. “Krugman Contra Krugman on the Minimum Wage?” December 12;
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ben-powell/krugman-minimum-wage_b_4428174.html
Reisman, George. 2014. “How Minimum Wage Laws Increase Poverty.” April 4; https://mises.org/library/how-minimum-wage-laws-increase-poverty
Reisman, George. 2016. “The State Against Economic Law: the Case of Minimum Wage Legislation.” January 4; http://researchroom.economicpolicyjournal.com/2016/01/the-state-against-economic-law-case-of.html
Rothbard, Murray N. 1988. “Outlawing Jobs: The Minimum Wage, Once More.” The Free Market. Auburn, AL: The Ludwig von Mises Institute, December, 1, 7-8; http://archive.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard315.html; https://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard124.html
Rothbard, Murray N. 2015A. “On the minimum wage.”July 29;
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2015/07/murray-rothbard-on-minimum-wage.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29
Rothbard, Murray N. 2015B. “The Crippling Nature of Minimum-Wage Laws.” November 6;
https://mises.ca/posts/articles/the-crippling-nature-of-minimum-wage-laws/
Rustici, Thomas. 1985. “A public choice view of the minimum wage.” Cato Journal. Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 103-131; http://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/cato-journal/1985/5/cj5n1-6.pdf
Salihu, Bardhyl N. 2013. “Bending the Laws of Economics.” February 19;
http://mises.ca/posts/articles/bending-the-laws-of-economics
Saltsman, Michael. 2015. “Minimum Wage Hike Forces a Nonprofit Restaurant to Close.” January 5; http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2015/01/minimum-wage-hike-forces-nonprofit.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29
Schiff, Peter. Undated. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLr5oWfoWRY&list=TLC1qFv76XMgWqS88S248kyGa-_uB-d-to
Sohr, Kevin and Walter E. Block. 1997. “The Minimum Wage,” The Freeman Ideas on Liberty, November, pp. 681-682.
Sowell, Thomas. 1995. “Repealing the Law of Gravity,” Forbes, May 22; p. 82.
Sowell, Thomas. 2000. Basic Economics: A Citizen’s Guide to the Economy. New York, N.Y.: Basic Books; (http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2016/04/what-is-real-minimum-wage.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29: “Minimum wage laws make it illegal to pay less than the government-specified price for labor. By the simplest and most basic economics, a price artificially raised tends to cause more to be supplied and less to be demanded than when prices are left to be determined by supply and demand in a free market. The result is a surplus, whether the price that is set artificially high is that of farm produce or labor.
Making it illegal to pay less than a given amount does not make a worker’s productivity worth that amount—and, if it is not, that worker is unlikely to be employed. Yet minimum wage laws are almost always discussed politically in terms of the benefits they confer on workers receiving those wages. Unfortunately, the real minimum wage is always zero, regardless of the laws, and that is the wage that many workers receive in the wake of the creation or escalation of a government-mandated minimum wage, because they either lose their jobs or fail to find jobs when they enter the labor force.”)
Sowell, Thomas. 2013. “Why racists love the minimum wage laws.” September 17;
http://nypost.com/2013/09/17/why-racists-love-the-minimum-wage-laws/
Thornton, Mark. 2016. “Mandating Higher Wages Won’t Fix Japan’s Economy.” November 17;
https://mises.org/blog/mandating-higher-wages-wont-fix-japans-economy
Tucker, Jeffrey. 2015. “The Eugenics Plot Behind the Minimum Wage: There really was a white male scheme to exterminate African Americans.” February 10; http://fee.org/freeman/detail/the-eugenics-plot-of-the-minimum-wage
Vedder, Richard K., and Lowell Gallaway. 2001. “Does the Minimum Wage Reduce Poverty?” Employment Policies Institute, June. http://epionline.org/studies/vedder_06-2001.pdf
Vuk, Vedran. 2006. Professor Stiglitz and the Minimum Wage.” September 4; http://mises.org/daily/2266
charlatan
Wenzel, Robert. 2013. “The Wrong Way to Argue Against Minimum Wage Laws.” February 17; http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2013/02/the-wrong-way-to-argue-against-minimum.html
Wenzel, Robert. 2015. “How Minimum Wage Increases Went Bad in San Francisco, Oakland, Seattle and Beyond.” June 10; http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2015/06/how-minimum-wage-increases-went-bad-in.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29
Wenzel, Robert. 2016. “Tyler Cowen on the Two Economists That Lefties Use to Prop Up Their Minimum Wage Hike Advocacy.” January 5; http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2016/01/tyler-cowen-on-two-economists-that.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29
Wiegold, Benjamin M. 2014. “The High Cost of Minimum Wages” May 30;
https://mises.org/library/high-cost-minimum-wages-0
Williams, Walter, E. 1982. The State Against Blacks, New York, McGraw-Hill.
Williams, Walter, E. 2013. “Higher Minimum Wages.” February 27;
http://archive.lewrockwell.com/williams-w/w-williams158.html
Williams, Walter, E. 2014A. “Politics and Minimum Wage.” January 8;
Williams, Walter, E. 2014B. “The State Against Blacks and the Minimum Wage.” http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2014/05/walter-e-williams-state-against-blacks.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29
Williams, Walter, E. 2014C. “Embarrassing Economists.” October 21;
Williams, Walter, E. 2015A. “Self-Enforcing Discrimination.” March 31;
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2015/03/walter-e-williams/minimum-and-maximum-prices/
Williams, Walter, E. 2015B. “Embarrassing Economists.” May 10;
http://researchroom.economicpolicyjournal.com/2015/05/embarrassing-economists.html
Williams, Walter, E. 2016. “The Arrogant Elite,” June 8;
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2016/06/walter-e-williams/arrogant-elite/
Williams, Walter, E. Undated.
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2015/11/powerful-walter-williams-comments-on.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29
2. See this bibliography on
a.Sweat shops
Block, 2000, 2008, 2011; Greene, Henry, Nathanson and Block, 2007; Hellmer, 2005; Krugman, 1997, 2001; Myerson, 1997; Powell, 2006, 2008; Powell and Skarbek, 2006; Powell and Zwolinski, 2012; Williams, 2004; Zwolinski, 2007
http://libertycrier.com/stop-protesting-sweatshops/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LibertyCrier+%28Liberty+Crier%29
Block, Walter E. 2000. “Protest! (For No Good Reason),” The Free Market, May, Volume 18, Number 5; http://www.mises.org/freemarket_detail.asp?control=313; http://mises.org/freemarket_detail.aspx?control=313;
http://www.mises.org/freemarket_detail.asp?control=313&sortorder=authorlast
Block, Walter E. 2008. Labor Economics from a Free Market Perspective: Employing the Unemployable. London, UK: World Scientific Publishing
Block, Walter E. 2011. “Reply to Hellmer on sweatshops.” Journal of Libertarian Studies, Vol. 22, pp. 719–739; http://mises.org/journals/jls/22_1/22_1_36.pdf
Greene, Zoe, Sally Henry, Coby Nathanson and Walter E. Block. 2007. “Negative Impacts of Minimum Wage and anti Sweatshop Legislation” Humanomics. Vol. 23, No. 2, pp. 83-92; http://tinyurl.com/27fj7f
Hellmer, Muetze Ellennita. 2005. “Establishing Government Accountability in the Anti-Sweatshop Campaign: Toward a Logical, Activist Approach to Improving the Working Conditions of the Poor.” Journal of Libertarian Studies. Vol. 19, No. 3, Summer, pp. 33-47; http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/19_3/19_3_2.pdf
Hotfelder, Aaron. 2009. “Why Nicholas Kristof is right to defend ‘sweatshops’ in his recent New York Times op-ed.”January 19; http://www.gadling.com/2009/01/19/nicholas-kristof-sticks-up-for-sweatshops-in-em-new-york-time/
Krugman, Paul. 1997. “In Praise of Cheap Labor, Bad Jobs at Bad Wages are Better Than No Jobs at All.” Slate, March 21; http://www.slate.com/articles/business/the_dismal_science/1997/03/in_praise_of_cheap_labor.html
Krugman, Paul. 2001. “Reckonings: Hearts and Heads.” New York Times. April 22; http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/22/opinion/reckonings-hearts-and-heads.html
Myerson, Allen. 1997. “In Principle, a Case For More ‘Sweatshops’” June 22;
http://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/22/weekinreview/in-principle-a-case-for-more-sweatshops.html
Powell, Benjamin. 2006. “In Reply to Sweatshop Sophistries” Human Rights Quarterly. Vol. 28, No. 4, November, pp. 1032-1042
http://mail.beaconhill.org/~bpowell/reply%20to%20sweatshop%20sophistries.pdf
Powell, Benjamin. 2008. “In Defense of ‘Sweatshops.’” Library of economics and liberty.
June 2; http://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/y2008/Powellsweatshops.html
Powell, Benjamin. 2014. Out of Poverty: Sweatshops in the Global Economy.
Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
Powell, Benjamin, and David Skarbek. 2006. “Sweatshop Wages and Third World Workers: Are the Jobs Worth the Sweat?” Journal of Labor Research. Vol. XXVII, No. 2, Spring, pp. 263-274;
http://mail.beaconhill.org/~bpowell/sweatshops%20and%20third%20world%20%20living%20standards.pdf
Powell, Benjamin & Matt Zwolinski. 2012. “The Ethical and Economic Case Against Sweatshop Labor: A Critical Assessment.” Journal of Business Ethics. Volume 107 Number 4; https://springerlink3.metapress.com/content/2175538418r43400/resource-secured/?target=fulltext.pdf&sid=4llc311ukv5vaa0oi1d4gim4&sh=www.springerlink.com
Williams, Walter. 2004. “Sweatshop Exploitation.” WND Commentary. January 28; http://www.wnd.com/2004/01/22978/
Zwolinski, Matt. 2007, “Sweatshops, Choice, and Exploitation,” Business Ethics Quarterly 17, pp. 689-727.
b.child labor
Block, 2008; DiLorenzo, 2004; Kauffman, 1992; Nardinelli, 1990; Rose, 1998, Tucker, 2008
Block, Walter E. 2008 [1976]. Defending the Undefendable. Auburn, AL: The Mises Institute; http://mises.org/books/defending.pdf;
DiLorenzo, Thomas J. 2004. “The Union Myth.” The Free Market, Vol. 24, No. 10, October
http://mises.org/freemarket_detail.aspx?control=511
Kauffman, Bill. 1992. “The Child Labor Amendment Debateof the 1920’s; or, Catholics and Mugwumps and Farmers,” The Journal of Libertarian Studies, Vol. 10, No. 2, Fall, pp. 139-170; http://mises.org/journals/jls/10_2/10_2_3.pdf
Nardinelli, Clark. 1990. Child Labor and the Industrial Revolution. (Bloomington: Indiana University Press
Rose, Jim. 1998. “Child labor, family income, and the Uruguay Round.” The Quartely Journal of Austrian Economics, Vol. 1, No. 4, 75-87; http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae1_4_4.pdf
Tucker, Jeffrey A. 2008. “The Trouble With Child Labor Laws.” February 11; http://mises.org/daily/2858
3. Free trade.
“Avoid benefits?” This is part and parcel of the minimum wage law. The reason they are “cleaning house” is because if they do not, they will have to pay more money. Reread the material above on the min wage law. It is the same thing for full time legislation. The government dictates that if a firm hires someone for 40 hours, it has to pay additional “benefits.” That is, extra wages. So, full time employment tends to disappear, and part time work is substituted for it. Then, people like your brother, pardon me for saying this, economic illiterates, blame the free enterprise system. But, no, ‘twas the fault of the law requiring extra pay, fringe benefits, for full time workers.
I also reject your use of the phrase “developing” countries. Many of them are instead retrogressing. Why not just call them poor, or underdeveloped?
See the bibliography on free trade:
Block, Horton and Walker, 1998; Boudreaux, 2010, 2016; Brandly, 2002; Brown, 1987; Epstein, 2016; Friedman and Friedman, 1997; Johnsson, 2004; Landsburg, 2008; McGee, 1994A, 1994B; McMaken, 2016; Mullen, 2015; Murphy, 2004; Ricardo, 1821; Rothbard, 2005; Rouanet, 2016; Smith, 1776
Block, Walter. Joseph Horton and Debbie Walker. 1998. “The Necessity of Free Trade,” Journal of Markets and Morality, Vol. 1, No. 2, October, pp. 192-200
Brandly, Mark. 2002. “A Primer on Trade.” November, 4;
http://www.mises.org/article.aspx?Id=1084
Brown, Pamela J. 1987. “Free Thought and Free Trade: The Analogy Between Scientific and Entrepreneurial Discovery Process,” The Journal of Libertarian Studies, Vol. 8, No. 2, Summer, pp. 289-292; http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/8_2/8_2_8.pdf
Boudreaux, Donald J. 2010. “On Trade and Currency Manipulation.” January 5; http://fee.org/freeman/on-trade-and-currency-manipulation/
Boudreaux, Donald J. 2016. “Should Gates clean his own toilets?” August 9; http://triblive.com/opinion/donaldboudreaux/10888506-74/workers-gates-wages
Epstein, Richard A. 2016. “The Rise of American Protectionism.” March 14;
http://www.hoover.org/research/rise-american-protectionism
Friedman, Milton and Rose Friedman. 1997. “The Case for Free Trade.” Hoover Digest No. 4.http://www.hooverdigest.org/974/friedman.html
Johnsson, Richard C.B. 2004. “On Ricardo and Free Trade.” January 12;
http://www.mises.org/article.aspx?Id=1421&
Landsburg, Steven E. 2008. “What to Expect When You’re Free Trading.” The NY Times. January 16; http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/16/opinion/16landsburg.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Steven+E.+Landsburg&oref=slogin.
McGee, Robert W., 1994A. A Trade Policy for Free Societies: The Case Against Protectionism, Quorum Books.
McGee, Robert W. 1994B. “The Fatal Flaw in NAFTA, GATT and All Other Trade Agreements,” Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business, Vol. 14, No. 3, 549-565.
McMaken, Ryan. 2016. “To Oppose Free Trade Is To Embrace Violence.” https://mises.org/library/oppose-free-trade-embrace-violence
Mullen, Tom. 2015. “Trump’s Protectionist Fallacies Have Been Refuted By Free Market Economists for Hundreds of Years.” August 31; http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-mullen/trumps-protectionist-fall_b_8056400.html
Murphy, Robert P. 2004. “Can Trade Bring Poverty?” December 24; http://www.mises.org/article.aspx?Id=1699
Ricardo, David. 1821 [1912]. The Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, 3rd ed., London: J. M. Dent
Rothbard, Murray N. 2005. Protectionism and the Destruction of Prosperity. Auburn, AL: The Mises Institute; http://mises.org/rothbard/protectionism.asp
Rouanet, Louis. 2016. “The Case for Unilateral Free Trade.” October 13;
https://mises.org/blog/case-unilateral-free-trade
Smith, Adam. [1776] 1979. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Fund
4. If the Philippinos were successful at innovation, they would spurn these call center jobs. The fact that they take them up, and with alacrity, suggests they are not great innovators. (Why not? I suspect, but don’t know, that this is because they have a highly regulated economy.) No one forces any Philippino to take these jobs. These are the best ones offered them, otherwise they would spurn them. Mental experiment: suppose the Philippine government prohibited these jobs. Would the average person there be better or worse off? Of course, the latter.
3:35 pm on December 3, 2016
