Economic theory has a few things to say about what will happen to the quantity demanded of something if you raise its price. But activists—and a few economists—have argued that, for various reasons, when the quantity you're talking about is the quantity of labor, it isn't as simple as that. In this context, the experience of Seattle has assumed vital importance.

The Seattle Results

In 2014, the City Council there passed an ordinance that raised the minimum wage in stages from $9.47 to $15.45 for large employers this year and $16 in 2019. Last year, research commissioned by the Seattle City Council itself was released. It examined the effects of the increases from $9.47 to as much as $11 in 2015 and to as much as $13 in 2016. This study, conducted by economists from the University of Washington, found: