Ford, George S. “Updating the Minimum Wage: Setting a Uniform Wage across a Diverse America.” Phoenix Center Perspectives, vol. 21, no. 01, 2021, pp. 1-10.
With the Democratic Party once again becoming the flagship of American politics, the topic of reformation of the minimum wage policy in the states has become relevant. In his paper, Ford, a qualified and experienced economist, attempts “to predict a minimum wage for low-wage states, most of which continue to adhere to the federal minimum” (8). Since this work contains many calculations, charts, and tables and focuses on the monetary aspect of the main topic, one can say that its intended audience is economists, financiers, and political scientists rather than sociologists. The specific worth of Ford’s study lies in its considerable body of knowledge about the economic and financial principles of formation and changing of minimum wages (1, 2). Data on the relationship of these to states’ and national polities and economics are the elements that distinguish this study from others described below.
Kaufman, John A., et al. “Effects of Increased Minimum Wages by Unemployment Rate On Suicide in the USA.” Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, vol. 74, no. 3, 2020, pp. 219-224.
The effect of the minimum wage on society and the influence of its variation on numerous population indicators is an intriguing and challenging topic that Kaufman et al. set out to explore. The group of experienced healthcare professionals decided to study how “social welfare policies such as the minimum wage can affect population health” (Kaufman et al. 219). Unlike previous research, this one is for social scientists and workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists. This scholarly paper contains not only detailed explanatory textual data but also examples of the application of sociological assessment models to minimum wages in the context of the United States (US) (Kaufman et al. 221, 222). Interlinked information on minimum wage and psychological state makes this study stand out from similar ones.
Himmelstein, Kathryn E. W., and Atheendar S. Venkataramani. “Economic Vulnerability among US Female Health Care Workers: Potential Impact of a $15-Per-Hour Minimum Wage.” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 109, no. 2, 2019, pp. 198-205.
The minimum wage in the female workforce is a field full of little-studied phenomena and indicators. One of the major research topics of Himmelstein and Venkataramani, two Doctors of Medicine, is the assessment of “the potential impact of a $15-per-hour minimum wage on … female health care workers” in America (198). One can safely argue that this professionally written academic paper would be of particular interest to sociologists and experts in gender studies. It provides a specific intersectional and feminist perspective on the economic and societal factors related to the minimum wage. These two methodologies have only recently begun to be widely applied by experts in this thematic branch of socio-economic research.
Neumark, David. “Employment Effects of Minimum Wages.” IZA World of Labor, 2018, Web.
However, the central and most popular topic related to the study of the impact of minimum wages on the population, at least in the American socio-economic scientific community, is the effect of these on employment rates. Being a high-class economist, Neumark also decided to clarify the main issues in this academic area. He found that the policy of increased minimum wages not only repels employers from hiring low-skilled personnel but also worsens the living conditions of the latter (Neumark). The need for including this short research in this annotated bibliography is because this source contains basic data about the primary topic. It is what differentiates this digital article from other more narrowly focused papers.
Gertner, Alex K., et al. “Association between State Minimum Wages and Suicide Rates In the US.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine, vol. 56, no. 5, 2019, pp. 648-654. Web.
Gertner et al. are another group of scientists who have dedicated their research to minimum wages and suicide in the American population. Their result is that a higher minimum wage slows down the rise in American suicide rates (Gertner et al. 648). This paper complements the work by Kaufman et al. and provides additional facts and descriptive, explanatory data. Their work would also be of greater interest to healthcare and humanitarian professionals.
Works Cited
Ford, George S. “Updating the Minimum Wage: Setting a Uniform Wage across a Diverse America.” Phoenix Center Perspectives, vol. 21, no. 01, 2021, pp. 1-10.
Gertner, Alex K., et al. “Association between State Minimum Wages and Suicide Rates In the US.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine, vol. 56, no. 5, 2019, pp. 648-654. Web.
Himmelstein, Kathryn E. W., and Atheendar S. Venkataramani. “Economic Vulnerability among US Female Health Care Workers: Potential Impact of a $15-Per-Hour Minimum Wage.” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 109, no. 2, 2019, pp. 198-205.
Kaufman, John A., et al. “Effects of Increased Minimum Wages by Unemployment Rate On Suicide in the USA.” Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, vol. 74, no. 3, 2020, pp. 219-224.
Neumark, David. “Employment Effects of Minimum Wages.” IZA World of Labor, 2018, Web.