The Impact of an Increase in the Minimum Wage on Employment

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Do you think we have any scientific understanding of the impact of an increase in the minimum wage on employment based on research design? There's been a lot of good work on the minimum wage. But I would say that the burden of proof has shifted towards people who think that the minimum wage has large disemployment effects. You may disagree with my results on charter schools, but they're worth worrying about.

Joshua Angrist of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology talks to EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the craft of econometrics--how to use economic thinking and statistical methods to make sense of data and uncover causation. Angrist argues that improvements in research design along with various econometric techniques have improved the credibility of measurement in a complex world. Roberts pushes back and the conversation concludes with a discussion of how to assess the reliability of findings in controversial public policy areas.