Study
| EST. READ TIME 1 MIN.Estimating the Economic Impact of British Columbia's Minimum Wage Increase
On March 16, 2011, British Columbia Premier Christy Clark announced her first major policy change, a $2.25 (28.1%) increase to BC?s current $8.00 per hour minimum wage. Controversy surrounds minimum wages because of the tension between well-intentioned efforts to increase incomes for lower income workers and the unfortunate reality of significant economic costs that come with increasing the minimum wage. A general misunderstanding of the types of workers who earn the minimum wage fuel that controversy. This Alert aims to provide British Columbians with an up-to-date account of these realities and an estimate of the economic costs of the recently announced increases to the province?s minimum wage.
Share
-
Niels Veldhuis
President, Fraser InstituteNiels Veldhuis serves as President of the Fraser Institute, Canada’s most influential think tank.In his over 20-plus-year career in publicpolicy, Niels has authored six books and more than 50 peer-reviewed studies on a wide range of economic topics. In 2011, he was awarded (along with his co-authors) the prestigious Sir Antony Fisher International Memorial Award for the best-selling book, The Canadian Century.Highly regarded for his opinions and perspectives on major economic and social issues, Niels appears regularly in the media across Canada and the United States. He has written hundreds of commentaries that have appeared in over 50 newspapers, including the Globe and Mail, Wall Street Journal, National Post, and The Economist.Known for his ability to explain matters of economics and government policy in a down-to-earth and easily understood manner, Niels travels widely across North America. His speaking engagements extend to diverse audiences, including business groups, corporate gatherings, community organizations, and students.Niels has had the privilege of sharing the stage and moderating discussions with prominent business and political leaders from around the world. Notable individuals include Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, and BC Premier Gordon Campbell. He has also moderated discussions with distinguished Canadian journalists such as Chantal Herbert, Andrew Coyne, and Rex Murphy, as well as diplomats such as Canada’s Ambassador to China and Israel’s Ambassador to Canada. Niels moderated a discussion between United States Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush in 2011 and has facilitated conversations with impactful authors like Mosab Hassan Yousef (author of "Son of Hamas") and Lord Conrad Black.Niels Veldhuis is an alumnus of Simon Fraser University, was one of Vancouver’s Top 40 under 40 by Business in Vancouver in 2010, and is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO).… Read more Read Less… -
Amela Karabegovic
Amela Karabegovi is a former Senior Economist of the Fraser Institute. She holds a B.M. (Great Distinction) in General Managementfrom the University of Lethbridge in Alberta and an M.A. in Economics from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. She was a coauthor of the Economic Freedom of North America , Economic Freedom of the Arab World , Myths and Realities of TILMA , Transparency of Labour Relations Boards in Canada and the United States , Measuring Labour Markets in Canada and the United States , Measuring the Flexibility of Labour Relations Laws in Canada and the United States , Tax and Expenditure Limitations: The Next Step in Fiscal Discipline , and the Prosperity Series-Ontario .… Read more Read Less…
Related Topics
Related Articles
By: Ben Eisen and Milagros Palacios
By: Tegan Hill and Alex Whalen
By: Philip Cross
By: Alex Whalen, Lawrence Schembri and Joel Emes