In a path-breaking book titled Myth and Measurement (1995), David Card and Alan Krueger examined data from a series of recent episodes, including the 1992 increase in New Jersey’s minimum wage, the 1988 rise in California’s minimum wage, and the 1990–91 increases in the federal minimum wage.21 They found evidence showing that increases in the minimum wage led to increases in pay but no loss in jobs. Increases in the minimum wage led to productivity growth as tenure rates rose and quit rates fell.
