Journal ArticleDOI
The Minimum Wage and the Cause of Democracy
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In this article, the authors argue that the minimum wage furthers the ends of democratic society in that low-wage workers may achieve greater equality of standing with their piers to the extent that income inequality is at all lessened; their autonomy as individuals is enhanced through higher wages, which in turn enables them to claim the benefits of citizenship and participate more effectively in the democratic process; and fosters greater economic development in that it raises the overall structure of a region and perhaps the productivity of that region.Abstract:
Too often the minimum wage is conceived of as a small policy measure that will be of benefit to only a small segment of the labor market while imposing costs on another segment of the labor market. Unexplored, however, are the larger philosophic questions that such a small measure may actually raise. One such issue is the relationship between the minimum wage and democratic principles. In this paper I argue that the minimum wage furthers the ends of democratic society in that low-wage workers may achieve greater equality of standing with their piers to the extent that income inequality is at all lessened; their autonomy as individuals is enhanced through higher wages, which in turn enables them to claim the benefits of citizenship and participate more effectively in the democratic process; and it fosters greater economic development in that it raises the overall structure of a region and perhaps the productivity of that region.read more
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Book
Anarchy, State, and Utopia
TL;DR: In Anarchy, State, and Utopia as discussed by the authors, Nozick argues that the state is justified only when it is severely limited to the narrow function of protection against force, theft and fraud and to the enforcement of contracts.
Book
Some Social Requisites of Democracy: Economic Development and Political Legitimacy
TL;DR: The conditions associated with the existence and stability of democratic society have been a leading concern of political philosophy as discussed by the authors, and the problem is attacked from a sociological and behavioral standpoint, by presenting a number of hypotheses concerning some social requisites for democracy, and by discussing some of the data available to test these hypotheses.
Journal ArticleDOI
Changes in Relative Wages, 1963–1987: Supply and Demand Factors
Lawrence F. Katz,Kevin M. Murphy +1 more
TL;DR: A simple supply and demand framework is used to analyze changes in the U.S. wage structure from 1963 to 1987 as discussed by the authors, showing that rapid secular growth in the demand for more-educated workers, "more-skilled" workers, and females appears to be the driving force behind observed changes in wage structure.
Journal ArticleDOI
Wage Inequality and the Rise in Returns to Skill
TL;DR: This paper found that the trend toward increased wage inequality is apparent within narrowly defined education and labor market experience groups, and that much of the increase in wage inequality for males over the last 20 years is due to increased returns to the components of skill other than years of schooling and years of labor market experiences.
Book
Participation in America : Political Democracy and Social Equality
Sidney Verba,Norman H. Nie +1 more
TL;DR: Verba and Nie as discussed by the authors investigated the correlation between socioeconomic status and political participation, using a national sample survey and interviews with leaders in 64 communities to identify four kinds of political participation: voting, campaigning, communal activity and interaction with a public official.
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