O salário-mínimo devasta os não qualificados

Walter Edward Block

doi:10.17765/2176-9184.2025v25.e13558

Authors

Walter Edward Block Loyola University New Orleans https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2215-4791

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17765/2176-9184.2025v25.e13558

Keywords:

Desemprego, Evidência Empírica, Lógica, Produtividade, Salários Mínimos

Abstract

Contextualização: A legislação do salário mínimo goza de ampla popularidade, com virtualmente nenhum movimento sério defendendo sua completa abolição. O espectro da opinião mainstream se limita a manter a taxa atual, aumentá-la modestamente, ou elevá-la significativamente.

Objetivos: Este artigo tem como objetivo argumentar que a lei do salário mínimo é uma violação injustificada dos direitos individuais. Sustenta que adultos que consentem devem ser legalmente livres para se engajar em quaisquer "atos capitalistas" que escolham, mesmo que esses atos contrariem as regulamentações do salário-mínimo.

Metodologia: O estudo adota uma abordagem teórica e normativa, fundamentada na filosofia política e no pensamento econômico liberal clássico. Examina criticamente a interferência do Estado nas relações contratuais voluntárias entre empregadores e empregados.

Resultados: Conclui que a imposição de um salário-mínimo não apenas restringe injustamente a liberdade contratual, mas também leva ao desemprego entre os grupos mais vulneráveis da sociedade—a saber, os pobres, os não qualificados e as minorias raciais—que são os menos capazes de suportar tais resultados

Author Biography

Walter Edward Block, Loyola University New Orleans

Harold E. Wirth Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair and Professor of Economics.

References

Agan, Amanda Y, and Michael D. Makowsky. 2020. “The Minimum Wage, EITC, and Criminal Recidivism.” Working Paper: 1-70. Available at SSRN: https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3097203

Anderson, D. Mark. 2014; “In School and Out of Trouble? The Minimum Dropout Age and Juvenile Crime”. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 96(2): 318-331. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1162/REST_a_00360.

Baird, Charles. 1990. "American Union Law: Sources of Conflict," Journal of Labor Research, Summer, pp. 269-292 (1990). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02685398.

Baird, Charles. 2000. "Unions and Antitrust," The Journal of Labor Research, Fall, pp. 585-600 (2000). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12122-000-1034-z.

Baird, Charles. 2013. "American Unionism and Freedom of Association." The Journal of Private Enterprise 28(2) Spring: 1-21; https://journal.apee.org/Spring2013_1.

Batemarco, Robert, Charles Seltzer and Walter E. Block. 2014. “The irony of the minimum wage law: limiting choices versus expanding choices.” Journal of Peace, Prosperity & Freedom, Vol. 3, pp. 69-83;

Beauchamp, Andrew and Stacey Chan. 2014. “The Minimum Wage and Crime.” The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy; 14(3): 1213–1235. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/bejeap-2013-0130;

Becker, Gary. 1995. “It's simple: Hike the minimum wage, and you put people out of work.” Business Week. March 6. p. 22; http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/1995-03-05/its-simple-hike-the-minimum-wage-and-you-put-people-out-of-work

Block, Walter E. 1984. Book review of John Anderson and Morley Gunderson, Union-Management Relations in Canada, Don Mills, Ontario: Addison-Wesley Publishers, 1982; in The Journal of Labor Research, Vol. V, No. 1, Winter, pp. 103-105.

Block, Walter E. 1990. "The Discounted Marginal Value Product - Marginal Value Product Controversy: A Note," Review of Austrian Economics, Vol. IV, pp. 199-207.

Block, Walter E. 1991. "Labor Relations, Unions and Collective Bargaining: A Political Economic Analysis," Journal of Social Political and Economic Studies, Vol. 16, No. 4, Winter, pp. 477-507. DOI: doi.org/10.1142/9789812790798_0006.

Block, Walter E. 1996A. "Labor Market Disputes: A Comment on Albert Rees' 'Fairness in Wage Distribution,'" Journal of Interdisciplinary Economics, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 217-230. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1142/9789812790798_0002.

Block, Walter E. 1996B. "Comment on Richard B. Freeman's 'Labor markets and institutions in economic development,'" International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 6-16. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/03068299610108845.

.

Block, Walter E. 2001. “The Minimum Wage: A Reply to Card and Krueger,” Journal of the Tennessee Economics Association, Spring;

Block, Walter E. 2008. Labor Economics from a Free Market Perspective: Employing the Unemployable. London, UK: World Scientific Publishing

Block, Walter E. 2010. “Are unions criminal gangs?” Global Virtue Ethics Review, Vol. 6. No. 1, pp. 28-49;

Block, Walter and William Barnett. 2009. “Monopsony Theory.” American Review of Political Economy. June/December, Vol. 7(1/2), pp. 67-109; http://www.arpejournal.com/ARPEvolume7number1-2/Block-Barnett.pdf; http://www.arpejournal.com/

Burkhauser, Richard V., Couch, Kenneth A., Wittenburg, David. 1996. "Who Gets What From Minimum Wage Hikes: A Replication and Re-estimation of Card and Krueger." Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 49, no. 3, April, pp. 547-552.

Burkhauser, Richard, and Aldrich Finnegan. 1989. "The Minimum Wage and the Poor: The End of a Relationship." Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. 8.1: 53-71. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3324424>. Does not appear in the f

Burkhauser, Richard V. and T. Aldrich Finnegan. 1993. “The economics of minimum wage legislation revisited.” Cato Journal, Vol. 13, No. 1, Spring/Summer, March, pp. 123-130; http://www.unz.org/Pub/CatoJournal-1993q1-00123

Cappelli, Peter and Walter E. Block. 2012. “Debate over the minimum wage law.” Economics, Management, and Financial Markets, 7(4), December, pp. 11-33; http://addletonacademicpublishers.com/abstracts/economics-management-and-financial-markets/volume-7-4-2012/debate-over-the-minimum-wage-law.html

Card, David, and Alan B. Krueger. 1994. "Minimum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast-Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania," American Economic Review, Vol. 84, No. 4, September, pp. 772-793; http://www.krueger.princeton.edu/90051397.pdf

Card, David, and Alan B. Krueger. 2000. “Minimum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast-Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania: Reply,” American Economic Review, 90(5), December, pp. 1397-1420.

Clemens, Jeffrey and Michael R. Strain. 2020. “Public policy and participation in political interest groups: an analysis of minimum wages, labor unions, and effective advocacy.” October;

Working Paper 27902 http://www.nber.org/papers/w27902

National Bureau of Economic Research

Colberg, Marshall R. 1960. Minimum Wage Effects on Florida's Economic Development. Journal of Law and Economics, vol. 3 (October): 106-117.

Deere, Donald, Murphy, Kevin M., Welch, Finis. 1995. "Employment and the 1990-91 Minimum-Wage Hike." American Economic Review. 85, no. 2, May, pp. 232-237.

Desilver, Drew. 2013. “Black unemployment rate is consistently twice that of whites.” August 21; https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/08/21/through-good-times-and-bad-black-unemployment-is-consistently-double-that-of-whites/

Evans, Jason and Walter E. Block. 2002. “Labor Union Policies: Gains or Pains?” Cross Cultural Management, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 71-79

Fone, Zachary S., Joseph J. Sabia and Resul Cesur. 2020. “Do minimum wage increases reduce crime?” NBER Working Paper 25647; http://www.nber.org/papers/w25647

Friedman, Milton. Undated. “A minimum-wage law is, in reality, a law that makes it illegal for an employer to hire a person with limited skills.” http://izquotes.com/quote/306121;

Gallaway, Lowell and Douglas Adie. 1995. Review of Card and Krueger's Myth and Measurement: The New Economics of the Minimum Wage, Cato Journal, Volume 15, no.1, pp. 137-140; http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj15n1-8.html

Hamermesh, Daniel and Finis Welch. 1995. “Review Symposium: Myth and Measurement: The New Economics of the Minimum Wage,” Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 48, pp. 835-838 and 842-848.

Hashimoto, Masanori. 1987. “The minimum wage and youth crimes: time-series evidence.” Journal of Law and Econoimcs, vol. XXX, October, p. 443; https://www.jstor.org/stable/725504

Hazlitt, Henry. 2008 [1946]. Economics in One Lesson. Auburn, AL: Mises Institute; http://mises.org/books/economics_in_one_lesson_hazlitt.pdf

Heldman, Daniel C. 1977. American Labor Unions: Political Values and Financial Structure, Council on American Affairs, Washington D.C.

Heldman, Daniel C., James T. Bennett, and Manuel Johnson. 1981. Deregulating Labor Relations, Fisher Institute, Dallas.

Hovenga, Claire, Devaja Naik and Walter E. Block. 2013. “The Detrimental Side Effects of Minimum Wage Laws.” Business and Society Review; Winter, Volume 118, Issue 4, pp. 463-487

Hutt, W. H. 1973. The Strike Threat System: The Economic Consequences of Collective Bargaining, New Rochelle, N.Y.: Arlington House; http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0870001868/lewrockwell/104-7552446-8407165.

Hutt, W. H. 1989. "Trade Unions: The Private Use of Coercive Power," The Review of Austrian Economics, Vol. III, pp. 109–120; http://www.mises.org/journals/rae/pdf/rae3_1_7.pdf.

Joint Economic Committee Republicans. 1995. “50 Years of Research on the Minimum Wage.” February 15; chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/c876c468-ffca-47ed-9468-7193d734bde9/50-years-of-research-on-the-minimum-wage---february-15-1995.pdf

Krumm, Ronald J. 1981. The Impact of the Minimum Wage on Regional Labor Markets. Washington: American Enterprise Institute.

Lehman, Charles Fain. 2021. “Minimum-Wage Hikes and Crime; How the ‘Fight for 15’ could enable a wave of youth lawlessness.” February 23; https://www.city-journal.org/minimum-wage-hikes-and-crime

Lingenfelter, Jonathan, Jose Dominguez, Leandra Garcia, Bryce Mayon and Walter E. Block. 2017. “Closing the Gap: Why Minimum Wage Laws Disproportionately Harm African-Americans.” Economics, Management, and Financial Markets; 12(1): 11–24;

Marte, Jonnelle. 2020. “Gap in U.S. Black and white unemployment rates is widest in five years.” July 2;

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-unemployment-race/gap-in-u-s-black-and-white-unemployment-rates-is-widest-in-five-years-idUSKBN2431X7

McCormick, Paul and Walter E. Block. 2000. "The Minimum Wage: Does it Really Help Workers," Southern Connecticut State University Business Journal, Vol. 15, No. 2, Fall-Spring, pp. 77-80.

Mincer, Jacob. 1976. “Unemployment effects of minimum wages.” Journal of Political Economy

Neumark, David and Wascher, William. 1992. "Employment Effects of Minimum and Subminimum Wages: Panel Data on State Minimum Wage Laws." Industrial and Labor Relations Review 46 (October), pp. 55-81.

Neumark, David and William Wascher. 1995. "Minimum wage effects on employment and school enrollment." Journal of Business Economics and Statistics. Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 199-207.

Neumark, David and William Wascher. 1998. “The Effect of New Jersey’s Minimum Wage Increase on Fast-Food Employment: A Re-Evaluation Using Payroll Records,” Econometrics and Economic Theory Papers, Michigan State University, January 1998, revised and published as “Minimum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast-Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania: Comment,” American Economic Review, 90(5), December 2000, pp. 1362-1396

Neumark, David and William Wascher. 2000. “Minimum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast-Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania: Comment,” American Economic Review, 90(5), December 2000, pp. 1362-1396

Neumark David and William Wascher, “The Effect of New Jersey’s Minimum Wage Increase on Fast-Food Employment: A Re-Evaluation Using Payroll Records,” Econometrics and Economic Theory Papers, Michigan State University, January 1998, revised and published as “Minimum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast-Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania: Comment,” American Economic Review, 90(5), December 2000, pp. 1362-1396

Petro, Sylvester. 1957. The Labor Policy of the Free Society, New York: Ronald Press; http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0471072133/lewrockwell/104-7552446-8407165.

Rensi, Ed. 2017. “Why Do Unions Fund The Fight For $15 Minimum Wage? Because They Gain A Financial Windfall In Return.” January 19;

https://www.forbes.com/sites/edrensi/2017/01/19/why-it-is-that-unions-fund-the-fight-for-15/

Reynolds, Morgan O. 1984. Power and Privilege: Labor Unions in America, New York: Manhattan Institute for Policy Research; http://mises.org/document/4962/Power-and-Privilege-Labor-Unions-in-America

Reynolds, Morgan O. 1987, Making America Poorer: The Cost of Labor Law, Washington D.C.: Cato Institute

Reynolds, Morgan. 2009. “A History of Labor Unions from Colonial Times to 2009,” July 17: http://mises.org/daily/3553

Rothbard, Murray N. 1991. “The Union Problem.” The Free Market. December 1; http://murrayrothbard.com/The_Union_Problem.html

Rothbard, Murray N. 1988. “Outlawing Jobs: The Minimum Wage, Once More.” The Free Market. Auburn, AL: The Ludwig von Mises Institute, December, 1, 7-8; http://archive.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard315.html; http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard124.html

Rothbard, Murray N. 1993. Man, Economy and State, Auburn AL: Mises Institute; http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0945466323/lewrockwell/104-7552446-8407165; http://www.mises.org/rothbard/mes.asp

Schmidt, Emerson P. 1973. Union Power and the Public Interest, Los Angeles, Nash

Shea, Brian. 2010. “Solidarity Forever: The power invested in worker collectives under United States law.” Journal of Libertarian Studies Vol. 22; pp. 219-246; http://mises.org/journals/jls/22_1/22_1_11.pdf

Sowell, Thomas. 1995. "Repealing the Law of Gravity," Forbes, May 22; p. 82.

Strain, Michael R. and Jeffrey Clemens. 2023. “Why Do Labor Unions Advocate for Minimum Wage Increases?” April 11;

https://www.aei.org/research-products/working-paper/why-do-labor-unions-advocate-for-minimum-wage-increases/

Wilson, Valerie. 2019. “Black unemployment is at least twice as high as white unemployment at the national level and in 14 states and the District of Columbia.” April 4; https://www.epi.org/publication/valerie-figures-state-unemployment-by-race/

Vuk, Vedran. 2006. Professor Stiglitz and the Minimum Wage.” September 4; http://mises.org/daily/2266

Williams, Walter, E. 1982. The State Against Blacks, New York, McGraw-Hill.