Ekaterina Jardim, Jacob Vigdor, and colleagues at the University of Washington concluded that when Seattle raised its minimum wage, the effect was to lower “the amount paid to workers in low-wage jobs by an average of $74 per month per job in 2016.”
a. Shouldn’t an increase in the minimum wage raise, rather than lower, the amount paid to low-wage workers? Briefly explain.
b. Does this result mean that no low-wage workers in Seattle benefited from the increase in the minimum wage? Briefly explain.
c. What effect might this result have on a normative analysis of the minimum wage?