The treatment of minimum wage in undergraduate economics textbooks revisited
by Veronika Dolar
International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education (IJPEE), Vol. 4, No. 2, 2013

Abstract: The discussion about how economics is taught in undergraduate courses is becoming more topical and professors have recently been accused of preaching free-market fundamentalism. In this paper, I review the coverage of the minimum wage in Principles of Economics textbooks to determine whether the aforementioned criticism of free-market fundamentalism applies. Staying within the contours of neoclassical paradigm I propose some examples to present new implications of the minimum wage that are rarely discussed in current textbooks. I provide a richer framework that highlights the effect of the minimum wage in a more nuanced way and discuss the consequences of the minimum wage laws that reach beyond the basic supply-demand diagram. Hopefully, this more comprehensive treatment of the minimum wage topic also helps students develop critical thinking and put to rest criticism that professors teach economics in undergraduate courses as a settled science. In addition, this paper can serve as a blueprint for economics instructors on how to teach the topic of minimum wage laws in their own classes.

Online publication date: Wed, 30-Apr-2014

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education (IJPEE):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

    Username:        Password:         

Forgotten your password?


Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com