Minimum wage and employment.

Summary The back cover states: "Is the minimum wage necessarily the enemy of employment? The polemic does not weaken, especially in France, on this legal threshold whose first forms were introduced more than a century ago to fight against poverty wages. Its mechanisms have long been known, however. Studies conducted by economists in the many countries where it is used show that its introduction or increase can, depending on the situation, have negative, null or positive effects on employment. The empirical results presented here allow us to reflect on the proper use of the minimum wage in our post-industrial societies marked by a growing polarization between an affluent class with high purchasing power and an army of low-wage workers.