Changing Attitudes towards Minimum Wage Debate: How is The Neoclassical Economic Theory holding in the face of a New Era of Minimum Wage Studies?

This paper compares the traditional neoclassical economic perspective with the recent empirical findings regarding minimum wage effect on employment. The comparison is done by reviewing and analyzing relevant literature and data that have recorded, over time, the changing attitudes toward the issue since the Great Depression era. By taking this approach, the argument is made that in the face of recent scientific findings and empirical research studies, the neoclassical argument that minimum wage laws have a negative effect on employment is gradually losing its appeal among scholars as well as practitioners. As a result, a new public debate is taking place on the issue, which in turn, has begun to have a transformative impact in the policymaking of minimum wage at the state and federal levels.