Economics 101

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4. Labor

Economics 101

Tags Austrian Economics OverviewProduction Theory

03/01/2004Murray N. Rothbard

Minimum wage laws force unemployment up. All of those with few skills looking for an entry position will be denied because they cannot add enough value to the business labor field to be paid minimum wage. Unemployment follows minimum wage hikes. Marginal workers are being denied the labor market.

There were workers in canning businesses making thirty cents an hour who were disemployed when a forty cents minimum wage was enacted. By changing definitions of employment government agencies manipulate figures.

Population growth issues have often been irrational. Overpopulation in one area could be under population in another. Optimum (maximum) populations depend on market systems and capital investment. As levels of living rise, parents decide upon lower birthrates.

The fourth of eight sessions from Murray Rothbard's Economics 101 series.


Murray N. Rothbard


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