p. 93; and Epstein, 1993, p. 41).
Card made California his control group. Like many states, California has its own wage law, and in 1988 it raised its minimum to $4.25 an hour, while the federal level remained at $3.35. When Card compared California with states where the minimum did not change, he found no evidence that its employment growth had slowed. This scenario was even more startling for teenagers, who make up a third of all minimum-wage workers and are the first to be laid off if the wage rises. The employment-to-population ratio for California teens rose by 5.6 percent. In addition, Card found no adverse effect in the low-wage retail trade industry.
Lawrence F. Katz, the Labor Department's chief economist, came to
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